With three months left to go before he is to retire, the government has begun its search for a judge to replace Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang to ensure there is a smooth transition, Attorney General Basil Williams said yesterday.
Williams also revealed that Justice Chang may soon proceed on his annual 10 weeks’ vacation even as checks are being done to determine whether he had taken leave during his almost 15 years as the head judge of the High Court. If it is found that he has not and that the leave was never deferred, Justice Chang’s retirement could arrive while he is on vacation leave.
During his first press conference since he assumed the position of Minister of Legal Affairs and AG roles, Williams noted that both the chancellor and chief justice have to be appointed by the President after an agreement with the Leader of the Opposition; something that has not occurred in years.
“Fortunately for me the Chief Justice’s tenure comes to an end shortly in a matter of months. In fact the Chief Justice will also have leave and the requirement of the public service under this new government is that people have to take their leave and that applies across the board”, he said.
He informed that even his Permanent Secretary has proceeded on 42 days leave. “It is not a question of a discretion. I think that the position is very clear under this new government”, he said before stressing that a vacancy occurring in the office of the Chief Justice will arise shortly as Justice Chang is set to go into retirement in February, 2016.
“When the Chief Justice goes on leave obviously somebody has to act in his position and that person who acts in his position until the time of his retirement would have to be a person appointed by the president after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition“, he said.
He added that public office holders taking leave is beneficial because it gives one the opportunity to refresh themselves and gives someone else the opportunity to act in that position so that they could be considered for the substantive position in the future.
Asked if he has recommended anyone or if the President already has a replacement person in mind, Williams said that he is currently having discussions with the President in this regard but he would prefer to refrain from giving a name for anyone who is being considered.
He noted that the Chancellor is acting but is the substantive Chief Justice. As it is presently configured, he said Justice Carl Singh is the acting Chancellor and Justice Chang is Acting Chief Justice. He said that when Justice Chang goes on leave there is a vacancy for someone to act in the Office of Chief Justice.
Asked how much leave is outstanding for Justice Chang, he said “we are checking…he has 10 weeks for sure for this year and he has never gone on leave before”. Williams said that Justice Chang was appointed in 2000 and noted that there has to be proof that his 15 years of leave was officially deferred or “something to that effect otherwise before that could factor in. We will make the checks with the Ministry of Finance”.
Back in June Minister of State Joseph Harmon had told Stabroek News that the government will be proceeding with its plan to extend advertisements for the posts of Chancellor and Chief Justice to the Caribbean.
Though it is unclear when Justice Singh is set to retire, so far there has been no public advertisement for the Chief Justice position.
President David Granger while the Opposition Leader had signalled disagreement with Acting Chancellor Singh and Acting Chief Justice Chang being confirmed to their respective posts. He had publicly said that he had asked for a transparent process to be used to fill the posts but this was never considered.
He had said back in 2013 if either Justice Singh or Justice Chang applied for the post and were reviewed and chosen by a panel then he would not object to their appointment.
Granger had noted that since April 2005, then President Bharrat Jagdeo and Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin could not agree and the issue has since been deadlocked.
The appointments require the agreement of both the President and the Leader of the Opposition.
