Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter published in the letter column of Sunday Stabroek, January 8, under the caption ‘Appointment of Sita Ramlal as Solicitor General is unconstitutional.’
Unfortunately the author of that letter did not publish his name. The letter poignantly asserts, “the power to make such appointment [Solicitor Genera] is vested by the Constitution exclusively in the Judicial Service Commission.” The entire letter is predicated upon this false premise.
Article 205 of the Constitution provides, explicitly, that the power to make appointment to the office of Solicitor General and to remove from office the person holding or acting in such office shall vest exclusively in the President.
Indeed, Article 205 expressly provides that the President is not required even to consult with any of the Constitutional Commissions before he makes that appointment as is required by the Constitution in respect of several other appointments.
Journalistic rectitude demands that Stabroek News ought to have first verified the constitutional and legal accuracy of the content of that letter rather than recklessly assuming its accuracy and hastening to publish that which is so patently erroneous and misconceived.
Yours faithfully,
Anil Nandlall
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs
