PRESS STATEMENT
Re:- Various comments attributed to The Hon. Rayburn Blackmoore, Minister of
National Security and Legal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica as published by various Dominican media houses.
The recent public utterances reportedly attributed to The Hon. Rayburn Blackmoore, Minister of National Security and Legal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica are most unfortunate and disturbing. Minister Blackmoore is reported to have harshly criticised the court’s approach to the granting of bail to an accused person who was criminally charged and before the courts.
The Dominica Bar Association (DBA) issued a statement which in part reads “… The Minister’s remarks conveyed the impression that the Court may have not taken the matter with the utmost seriousness or considered the relevant provisions of the Bail Act or other relevant law. While it is not our role to determine or relay to the public whether the Honourable Court was right or wrong in its final determination, it must be stated that in this case, specific references to the Bail Act and several case precedents were made by the Honourable Judge throughout his 24-page judgment… The DBA calls upon all public officials to uphold the integrity of the legal system by refraining from statements that may be perceived as an attempt to influence or challenge judicial independence. This is essential
to maintaining a just and democratic society…”.
OCCBA joins with our colleagues and members of the legal profession of the Dominican Bar in the standing against the unfortunate utterances by the Hon. Minister.
We are compelled to remind the learned Minister that responsible governance and Ministerial responsibility must never sacrifice the Rule of Law, constitutional principles, the presumption of innocence as well as the respect for regional justice systems and our judiciary on the altar of inflammatory rhetoric which can only serve to undermine our entrenched human rights and legal systems.
CONSTITUTIONAL IMPERATIVES AND HUMAN RIGHTS
OCCBA has stated before, and it is well worth repeating, that responsible political leadership must recognise that our Commonwealth Caribbean legal systems and Constitutions are all designed and equipped to protect and preserve the following basic human rights and freedoms (to varying degrees and in different manners):-
- Any person who is arrested and charged with a criminal offense is presumed innocent
and should be treated accordingly; - Any person awaiting trial and kept in custody shall be entitled to bail on reasonable
conditions unless sufficient cause is shown for keeping him in custody; - The State (and by extension its leaders) must observe and respect human rights; and
- The State (and by extension its leaders) must observe and respect the Rule of Law.
We encourage and urge Minister Blackmoore, indeed all Ministers of Government throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean, in the discharge of their leadership duties, to be thorough and fair, being ever-mindful of their conduct, comments, and remarks lest they convey an impression that their conduct is demeaning to their office and is unduly prejudicial. Good political governance dictates that the political directorate must exercise its formidable and immense influence and powers responsibly, respectfully, and in a circumspect manner.
We certainly appreciate and understand that as regards the public (including government ministers) there is a right for individuals to responsibly, respectfully, and peacefully disagree with the decisions of the courts and to question the application of the law by the judiciary, once such debates/commentary are not contemptuous of the court. However, in this instance, it seems that Minister Blackmoore, in the public discharge of his political office, made utterances and remarks that may serve to undermine or have the practical effect of undermining, the justice system and the rule of law. Minister Blackmoore
in making his remarks chose not to be “circumspect” in those circumstances and, we share the views of the Dominica Bar Association that he displayed conduct upon which we must comment adversely (particularly in the absence of any allegation of an irregular or perverse ruling from the bench).
ADVICE FOR THE EXECUTIVE
OCCBA takes this opportunity to remind the Government of Dominica, indeed all Commonwealth Caribbean Governments, of the duty of the executive to ensure that our judicial systems benefit from proper accommodation and facilities and that our courts are properly staffed and resourced, to adequately tackle the many challenges, including the huge backlog of cases languishing at civil and criminal branches of various court systems. With the injection of much-needed human, technological, and financial resources, the wheels of justice are expected to turn more efficiently and effectively. We urge increased resources to the judicial system and to reduce the rhetoric aimed at it.
We remind citizens of the Commonwealth Caribbean that the Judiciary is a separate and independent branch of government that should not be unduly interfered with by the political directorate. We urge careful introspection and hopefully, this will result in clarifications and retractions by Minister Blackmoore as regards these unfortunate utterances.
ORGANIZATION OF COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN BAR ASSOCIATIONS
Per:- DONOVAN C. WALKER – PRESIDENT
CONTACT:- dcwalker@hmf.com.jm.
So, the OCCBA uses its time to lecture the Minister about when and where he should speak. The arrogance! The Minister was very well within his role as the representative of “the people” and a policymaker to express the already publicly known position of the “people” on the question of bail for the accused. Policymakers must be allowed a measured amount of latitude to voice the position of the State on critical issues. This absolute right to speak on behalf of “the people” cannot be infringed upon or muzzled, although, admittedly, regarding court matters, the politician walks a fine line. He must be careful what he says, when, and how. On the said matter, Blackmoore was correct to speak as he did.