With the written judgment of the Chief Justice’s ruling on Tuesday invalidating the composition of the Police Service Commission (PSC) still to be made available to lawyers in the case, Justice Gino Persaud has further deferred moving ahead with the challenge before him on the suspension of the former members of the body.
Both the Chief Justice’s ruling on Tuesday as well as the one she delivered two weeks ago, affirming the appointment of Clifton Hicken as acting Commis-sioner of Police, touch and concern the action before Justice Persaud.
In the circumstances, when the matter was called before him yesterday for reports on the way forward, the attorneys all agreed that time should first be given to study the judgments before proceeding.
Darshan Ramdhani QC, who represents the PSC that has now been declared illegally constituted and which was a party to the matter before Justice Persaud, noted the obvious implications, but said that the judgment is needed for in-depth perusal.
He said it may well be that certain aspects, or even the entire challenge may now naturally fall away because of the Chief Justice’s (CJ’s) rulings.
Ramdhani’s application on behalf of his client has been to withdraw and discontinue the proceedings.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC, who represents the Commissioner of Police and Prime Minister against whom the matter was filed, echoed Ramdhani’s sentiments, stating that for completeness, time should first be given for the judgments to be studied in their entirety.
He said that the Chief Justice’s ruling validating the acting appointment of the Commissioner of Police, who is also a party to the matter, will also have implications for how and the extent to which Justice Persaud may now be able to proceed.
He noted, too, further implications not only for the PSC having been nullified, but its actions being saved by the Chief Justice, through her application of the de facto doctrine.
Nandlall, who is also Minister of Legal Affairs, said that given the ruling invalidating the composition of the PSC, steps will also now have to be taken to reconstitute it in accordance with the CJ’s ruling.
Attorney Selwyn Pieters, who represents the litigant, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and immediate former Chairman of the previous PSC Paul Slowe, also supported the call for time to study the written judgments.
He, however, expressed his concern about what he said was an inordinate delay in the case progressing, which he said should be avoided. The lawyer submitted that without ascribing blame to anyone, the matter has been ongoing for quite some time now, and that it was not what his client wants to continue seeing.
He then made reference to promotions made by the former PSC under his client’s Chairmanship, being saved by the Chief Justice’s ruling on Tuesday.
Nandlall, however, argued that the Chief Justice’s ruling did not extend to those promotions.
Citing potential differences in how the rulings may be interpreted, Nandlall said that this is one of the reasons the written judgments should first be studied before the matter moves any further.
Slowe has had a pending application before Justice Persaud, in which he asked that the effect of police promotions made under the now-declared illegally composed PSC, be stayed.
He had previously sought an injunction to any such promotions being made, but had to withdraw that request since the Com-mission went ahead with promotions though his application preceded its actions.
In all the circumstances, Justice Persaud granted an adjournment until Septem-ber 20 to determine what should be the way forward.
Chief Justice Roxane George SC did not say exactly when her written judgment will be made available, noting on Tuesday only that it would be “soon.”
The matter before Justice Persaud had been deferred on several previous occasions owing to a number of appellate rulings on interlocutory issues.
Nandlall said that the latest deferral is important to ensure that issues already determined are not dealt with again by a court of concurrent jurisdiction.
Justice George on Tuesday ruled that in the absence of a Chairman of the Public Service Commission with whom the Chairman of the Police Service Commission needed to consult, the Police Service Commission was not lawfully constituted.
Finding that the President had meaningfully consulted the Leader of the Opposition, she, however, affirmed the appointment of Patrick Findlay as Chairman of the Police Service Commission.
Findlay’s appointment was challenged by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, whose contention was that the President Irfaan Ali did not meaningfully consult him.
Meanwhile, the CJ on August 11 delivered a ruling that the President’s appointment of Hicken to act as Commissioner of Police was lawful, finding that the Head of State had acted well within the Constitution.
She threw out the APNU+AFC Opposition’s action, ruling, among other things, that because there was no Opposition Leader when Hicken was appointed, there could also be no consultation between Ali and Norton on making the appointment, as envisioned by the Constitution.
The absence of an Opposition Leader, she said, has nothing to do with the President and for which he could not be faulted, while stating that the security apparatus of the nation, of which Hicken is an integral part, had to be safeguarded.
In the action before Justice Persaud, Slowe, who along with the members of the previous PSC who were suspended by President Ali last year, is challenging that decision and seeking a number of declarations, including that the Commission’s Secretary be directed to prepare formal letters to the ranks named on the official list of promotions compiled and signed by the Commission on June 28, 2021 informing those ranks of the Commission’s decision to promote them.
They also want the Court to nullify President Ali’s suspension of the Chairman and members of the Commission.
Back in September of last year, Slowe wrote to then acting Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie directing that he honour the promotions list published by the constitutional body on June 28 of last year or risk legal action.
Hoppie had acknowledged receipt of Slowe’s ultimatum but there was no compliance.
The promotions list was made public just one hour after Chief Justice George had dismissed a challenge which had delayed the promotions for more than six months.
Days before the CJ handed down her ruling, however, President Ali, by letters dated 15 June, 2021, issued orders purporting to suspend the five-member Commission, which included Slowe, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Clinton Conway, Claire Jarvis, Michael Somersall and Vesta Adams.
Stemming from the CJ’s June 28, 2021 ruling, however, Slowe called on the Top Cop to effect the promotions.
In his letter, Slowe upbraided Hoppie for failing to prepare the promotion order so that the promoted ranks and other members of the Force could be informed of the promotions.
