Estelle Leslie Does Not Concede Seniority

Estelle Leslie

Marshalleck explains that the case is not about the Prime Minister’s decision to choose Estelle Leslie because that cannot be challenged.  In fact on the matter of seniority, Marshalleck says that his client feels that she is as entitled to hold the post as Haylock.

Andrew Marshalleck

Andrew Marshalleck, Attorney for Estelle Leslie

“There can be no challenge to the decision of the Prime Minister to choose Miss Leslie over Mister Haylock. The idea is if the decision as to who to appoint to the Public Service Commission then Mister Haylock thinks he stands a better chance given the disposition of the Public Service Commission but the designation of the post strips that decision away from the Public Service Commission and rest it with the Governor General, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister. My clients considers that she is an entitled to that post as mister Haylock. Regardless of who makes the decision. She doesn’t concede the seniority to Mister Haylock. She says that seniority that he claims is artificial and is the result of decision of the Public Service Commission retroactively appointing to certain dates. They in fact started in the customs department and moved through its rank pretty much identical time table. There is a trend but I think it is a reflection of a change in culture and of course it has to do with the change in government, the change of administration with the recent elections. There has been a practice developed of public officers seeking to entrench themselves in position especially coming on a general elections in order to create the environment in which these types of challenges can launched. It is no accident that these are being launched. When you see contracts being signed in an election years for five years to take you through the entire term of the next administration it is not surprising that there will be challenges to that. That should be anticipated.”