anand@tstt.net.tt

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We’ll never know the real reason

By now, the long-awaited Lord Mustill Report should have been delivered to the President. The ambitious public declaration by the tribunal that it intended to deliver it before the general election fell flat, as Prime Minister Manning immediately announced the date for the election.

We will never know whether Manning was influenced by Lord Musthill’s ominous announcement—that the people should have the benefit of their findings before they go to the polls—into suddenly pulling the election date out of his back pocket.

Equally, we will never know the real reason why the report is being delivered now, more than a month after the election.

Did Manning checkmate Musthill by announcing the date for the election so soon after the tribunal had completed its enquiry and voiced its intention to spill the beans?

Was it simply a case of the tribunal underestimating the amount of work it had to do? Or, was the tribunal influenced by the letter from its own independent counsel, Mr Reginald Armour, SC, who advised against delivering the report in the height of the election campaign?

It is hardly likely that such experienced jurists would underestimate the time needed to complete their report, after what was a relatively short enquiry with few witnesses.

It must be that members of the tribunal saw merit in the argument that the possibility of such a report being made public during the election campaign could create quite a splash, and it did not want to be responsible for the ripples.

I trust there would be some explanation from Lord Musthill as to why his tribunal did not meet its own deadline.

This deadline was publicly announced in the context of a carefully-reasoned speech, in which Musthill made it abundantly clear that he felt the public should know what was decided before they decided to vote.

This report could either vindicate the Chief Justice’s allegation of a political conspiracy to hound him out of office, or establish that there were reasonable grounds for the Government to act in the manner that it did.

If the charge of misconduct is made out, the Government would be vindicated. On the other hand, if the tribunal clears the CJ and condemns the failure of the key player, former attorney general John Jeremy to testify, then the constitution would have suffered a serious fracture.

Sadly, the Musthill report is now largely of academic value, as the long delay in appointing and establishing the tribunal and the length of time it took to commence its enquiry ensured that CJ Sharma loses in any event.

This is so because the CJ would have to automatically vacate office in January, 2008, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age.

There was never any real sense of urgency, and every one took their time in dealing with this matter, despite its obvious importance.

Whether it was by design or not, when all the dots are connected from beginning to end, Sharma was going to be removed from office, regardless of his guilt or innocence.

If he is found guilty of misconduct, the message and penalty would have been far more effective if he was expelled from office before he was automatically bound to vacate same by virtue of his age.

The report is also academic because other impeachment proceedings involving allegations of interference in the Vijay Narayansingh murder trial remain unresolved.

This provides sufficient basis for the continuation of Sharma’s suspension. The public must be reminded the CJ had sought judicial review, and this case has now reached the Privy Council on the narrow issue of whether he is entitled to cross-examine the Prime Minister.

The trial of this case has been stayed, pending the outcome of this appeal.

If Sharma wins the State in the Musthill Report, it is left to be seen whether the Government will nevertheless pursue the Narayansingh impeachment matter, or whether it will simply allow him to retire quietly and gracefully.

If Sharma is found guilty of wrongdoing, then there may be no need to proceed with the Narayansingh matter, as it makes no sense to have him removed from office twice, and there are no related criminal proceedings pending.

This knot would be untangled soon enough. Time will tell how miscellaneous Musthill was in this entire game.

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