Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has added his voice in condemning the attacks on high court judge Bernie Stephenson.
Justice Stephenson, after mounting pressure from the leader of the Opposition and other concerned citizens, has recused herself from hearing an election petition matter involving the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) and 10 sitting Dominica Labour Party (DLP) parliamentary representatives following the December 2019 general elections.
In condemning the matter that has sparked debate from both sides of the political divide the Prime Minister had this to say.
“I just want to express my complete dismay and shock at the unwarranted and baseless attack on Judge Stephenson. Now we are in a democracy and the judiciary is independent of the country or the government and in a democracy, we will agree or disagree from time to time with any judgment given by any judge or any court in our jurisdiction.
“People have a right to criticize or to disagree publicly or privately with a decision of any judge or magistrate in a democracy. So I am not saying that these judges are immune to criticism but what is really at play here is an unwarranted, baseless, malicious, and vicious attack on a judge,” the Prime Minister remarked.
In making specific reference to the opposition leader, Lennox Linton, the Prime Minister opined that Linton’s statements are a direct attack on the judiciary and he ought to have known better.
“Mr. Linton has attacked the judge from his office as leader of the opposition. His attack was unfounded and malicious and vicious. I have been speaking to retired justices in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and beyond to get their reaction to what’s happening in Dominica. They have indicated to me base on their 30, 40, 50 years of experience, they have never seen something like this happening. This has caused them to be extremely concerned about what is happening in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
“It is really, really outrageous what happened. I want to condemn the unwarranted, unfounded, baseless, and vicious attack by the leader of the opposition on a sitting member of the judiciary and the unfortunate thing is that the judge and because of the position that she holds does not have the luxury of responding publicly.
“This gentleman has no decorum. He has no understanding of his function even as the leader of the opposition. I believe that the citizenry of our country and indeed the OECS Supreme Court jurisdiction should be outraged and they are in fact outraged by this.
It would be irresponsible for any member of parliament who has the authority to participate in the preparation of legislation to be so dangerous in his approach,” Skerrit who carried his Dominica Labour Party to an 18-3 victory at the December 2019 general elections said.
According to the Prime Minister, while he sometimes gets peeved at certain decisions against him, he must be measured in how he deals with the situation.
“I have had reasons sometimes to criticize the decision of the court but I would not go public and neither would I, as Prime Minister, attack the judiciary. There is a process in law and in practice for one to object to a person sitting as an adjudicator on a case. That is not how it is supposed to be done and it is really unfortunate, to say the least,” he remarked.
Earlier this week, the Dominica Bar Association (DBA) issued a statement on the matter. However, according to the Prime Minister, the statement is wanting and without substance.
“I am even more shocked at the response of the Dominica Bar Association. The Dominica Bar Association is either going to decide whether it is a body that should also serve as a watchdog of the preservation of the judiciary system and its independence, or it should be disbanded. This tame reaction by the Dominica Bar Association to the unwarranted and vicious attack on the judge is really disheartening, to say the least.
“So, it is unfortunate what has happened and even more unfortunate with regards to the tame response of the Bar Association,” he reemphasized.
Justice Bernie Stephenson has been a resident high court judge in Dominica since 2009.