Chief Justice to go Before the Court for Benching Bar President from JLSC Meetings

Michael Peyrefitte

Notwithstanding the Chief Justice’s pending retirement, there is a matter that has been lodged before the Supreme Court in which he is being challenged as chair of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.  The Bar Association, through attorney Andrew Marshalleck, is taking CJ Benjamin to court for sidelining its president from JLSC meetings.  It is his position that Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lyn Vidal should not sit on the JLSC because of the duality of the offices she holds.  While that matter is set to be heard, will his departure mean that the case will be abandoned or will his successor carry forward a similar perspective?

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“It’s an accepted fact that the current situation was caused by the Chief Justice as the chairman, saying that he did not see it appropriate for the president of the bar, who is also a public servant, to serve on the J.L.S.C.  If, and it’s a big if, I’d like to say bold, italicized, underlined, if this current Chief Justice were to say that come March he is retiring and he doesn’t want to return, maybe a new Chief Justice would have a different view on the matter and so then maybe that case would go away.  But we don’t know, so we would have to do everything at once and see what happens.  If this current Chief Justice decides that he wants to stay and if the J.L.S.C. votes for him to stay then we will have to just deal with that case.”