Parliamentarians, politicians, judges, lawyers and academics came together to hold a lively debate at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) entitled “The Mustill Report: Meaning and Implications” on February 21 at the SALISES conference room.

Students and members of the public participated in the sessions presented by Ms. Dana Seetahal, Independent Senator and Attorney-at-Law; Mr. Vernon De Lima, Attorney-at-Law; Dr. Hamid Ghany, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI; and Professor Emeritus Selwyn Ryan, Political Scientist and former Director of SALISES. The event was chaired by the present Director of SALISES, Dr. Patrick Watson.

Ms. Dana Seetahal provided a straightforward analysis of the Mustill Report, examining various parts of the report and commenting on their implications using her expert legal experience. Mr. Vernon De Lima, in his animated and fiery debate discussed the unavailability of a “complete” document for public debate and looked at the legal implications of the “CJ Affair”, as it was referred to in the media, which was the focus of the Mustill Report.

Dr. Hamid Ghany explained the process and the provisions under the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago for the dismissal of a Chief Justice and the genesis for the tenure of judges as stated in the Constitution. He also described the role of the Prime Minister with regards to the behaviour of members of public office and stated that the constitution “devolves responsibility to the PM for the behaviour of public officials”. Dr. Ghany also provided a timeline for the tribunal process against Chief Justice Sat Sharma and used examples from the history of Trinidad & Tobago to demonstrate similar situations, specifically during the presidency of Sir Ellis Clarke in 1986 and Arthur N. R. Robinson in 1998.

Professor Selwyn Ryan approached the topic from post and pre independence eras, also drawing references to Ghana, where similar actions against that country's Chief Justice occurred. Professor Ryan the Sat Sharma matter as they occurred from an historical, social, economic and political perspective.

The public discussions were energetic and members of the audience were interested in finding out what constitutional changes can be made to prevent a reoccurrence of a similar event, another made a comment on the social implications of the affair again mentioning the role of the constitution.