The Caribbean still needs the law lords in London as a final court of appeal - for now

The Caribbean nations, which were formerly British territories, seem determined to shed the last vestiges of the colonial era. The Privy Council, the final court of appeal in Caribbean jurisprudence, must go, they say. And the government leaders only recently met in Suriname, a former Dutch colony on the northern coast of South America, to finalise plans for a Caribbean court of appeal.

Their major objection to the Privy Council is that it has made judgments which stand in the way of hanging convicted murderers. Bloodlust is strong among Caribbean peoples, and the political directorates follow in its wake. Those of us at the radical end of the political spectrum are hesitant. Tarry a while, we say.

Caribbean justice bears the stamp of autocracy, cruel and unusual punishment, political interference and seriously flawed judgments. Time and again, the Privy Council has intervened to save lives and halt the tide of injustice that threatens to engulf the legal system. This has been accomplished with the assistance of British lawyers.

Take one current example, involving the chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago, Sat Sharma. A Professor Vijay Naraynsingh is on remand at the local prison, along with two others, on suspicion of murdering his wife, a doctor. The charge was laid by the director of public prosecutions, who alleges that it was a hit job. The wife, he says, was about to sue for divorce and for a considerable share of the family spoils. The hit man was convicted of manslaughter and has since turned state witness.

Enter the chief justice. He summoned the director of public prosecutions and the attorney general to five separate meetings, demanding they desist from prosecution. On one occasion, he allegedly lifted his shirt and exposed scars on his stomach which, he claimed, were evidence that Naraynsingh had saved his life. At least one of the meetings was taped and now the prime minister is investigating these grave charges.

Into this torrent of accusation and counter-accusation is thrown a racial element. The chief justice (like Naraynsingh) is of Indian origin. The DPP and the attorney general are Africans; leaders of the Indian community, including the opposition leader in parliament, say they are guilty of racial discrimination.

The leader of Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago has threatened racial violence if the state does not back off from the investigation. If Sharma does not resign quietly, the matter is bound to come before the Privy Council on some obscure point of constitutional law. I am sure that, in this crazy state of affairs, the law lords in London will use their considerable experience to bring about stability. The people of the Caribbean still need the Privy Council at this moment in history.

Post your comment

Please note: you will need to login or register before you can comment on the website