Former St Vincent PM calls for referendum on CCJ

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC  – Former Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell says if the Dr Ralph Gonsalves led government wants to replace the London-based Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), it should use a referendum to decide if the opinion of Vincentians has changed since 2009.

In that year, Vincentians rejected in a referendum, proposed changes to the constitution, including replacing the Privy Council with the CCJ as the nation’s highest court.

Sir James has long been an advocate of retaining the Privy Council.

He became an even stronger advocate of the court after it ruled in his favour in a case in which he claimed bias on the part of Commissioner of the Ottley Hall Commission of Inquiry, then retired high court judge Ephraim Georges, who has since died.

In a 19-page judgement, the Privy Council said that Georges’ Interim Report on the Ottley Hall Marina Project “contains far too many firm statements of the misbehaviour” of Sir James.

The Privy Council, which is the final court of appeal in the case, ordered that Georges take no further part in the inquiry.

The inquiry, which died a natural death, was a multi-million dollar effort of the Ralph Gonsalves government to find out if there was any wrongdoing at the project, which was constructed when Sir James was prime minister.

However, Vincentian jurist, Justice Adrian Saunders this month became president of the 13-year-old, Trinidad-based CCJ, reigniting debate about switching from the Privy Council to the regional court.

Speaking at a special sitting of the court in Kingstown last Friday, Gonsalves noted a post-referendum ruling of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, which says that a two-thirds majority of Members of Parliament rather than the electorate is needed to replace the Privy Council.

The prime minister said he is willing to bring such a law to parliament if the opposition would support it.

However, Sir James, speaking on radio, said he is prepared to be the last person in the country supporting the Privy Council.

“I felt so from the beginning, I feel so now, and I don’t care if I am the last man standing. Get that quite clear: justice and laws, from the time of Aristotle to today is an empire of laws but not an empire of men. You can’t say that because a Vincentian is now boss of the CCJ therefore Vincentians must accept it.”

He also rejected the suggestion by some that citizens should ascend to the Privy Council because one of its nationals is now its president.

“What happens if Saunders dies with a heart attack? Are people going to change their opinion? Come on! You have to take decisions based on justice and you understanding of justice and the rights that you feel will be protected in the system of laws.”

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