Lawyers seek to oust Supreme Court judge
His judicial opinions have been characterized by a tendency not to rock the boat… and successive governments have found his presence on the bench to be a comfort in times of stress. But today the opposition press broke the story of rebellion in the legal ranks. Senior counsel Lois Young Barrow, supported by a number of her colleagues, has filed a complaint with the governor general against Supreme Court Justice George Meerabux, alleging a blatant act of bias and asking for his removal from the bench.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
According to today’s Guardian newspaper, Young-Barrow made her allegations on October sixteenth of last year. The allegations arose out of Judge Meerabux’s granting of an injunction against her client, Belize Telecommunication’s Limited. Young-Barrow told News 5 in a telephone interview this afternoon that Business Machines and Solutions Limited, BMSL, a company associated with Glenn Godfrey, was granted the exparte injunction under circumstances she claims reflect gross misconduct on the part of Meerabux.
Young-Barrow says this case is only one of several similar complaints of misconduct levied against the judge. Fred Lumor is the president of the Belize Bar Association.
Fred Lumor, President Bar Association
“In view of the resolution passed by the Bar Association in February of 1999, in which we called on the government to ask Meerabux to resign, the Bar Committee, which is the executive of the Bar Association, was mandated to take up the matter further. When we realised had enough information to constitute a complaint to the Governor General. We had a meting in which we took a decision and a complaint was made. That is all I can tell you about our meeting.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“You can’t tell me anything about the information?”
Fred Lumor
“No, I don’t think it’s proper for me at this stage to release the details of our complaint.”
Lumor says the Bar Association has launched a complaint against Justice Meerabux to the Governor General and the matter is now before him.
Fred Lumor
“The Governor General is expected to act in accordance with Section 98 of the Constitution of Belize. Basically, the procedure will be that if the Governor General finds the complaint of the Bar Association is without merit, he will dismiss it outright and that’s the end of the matter. If he considers the complaint grave and serious enough, I believe what he will do to call the complaint to the attention of the judge and ask for his comments. Upon receipt of the comments, if he’s still not satisfied and still considers the matter very serious, then he’ll refer the matter to the Belize Advisory Council for inquiry. The Advisory Council is expected to see it as a tribunal, as a court, and hear and find out the truth of the matter. If it finds the complaint true of merit, then the Advisory Council can recommend to the Governor General that the judge should be removed from office.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Can’t the Governor General suspend him in the interim until the matter is being heard?”
Fred Lumor
“The Governor General has the power under the constitution when referring the matter to the Belize Advisory Council, to suspend the judge from the performance of his duties pending the decision of the Belize Advisory Council. It’s all up to him, in his own delivery of judgement.
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
Justice Meerabux, a native of Guyana, was first employed in Belize as a Magistrate, before being appointed to the Supreme Court over a decade ago. He did not return several phone calls made to him for comment.
