THE WAR OF THE CLERKS

Events at City Hall once again intruded into national consciousness and demanded the nation’s attention amidst the major concerns of budget cuts, the AML/CFT Bill, the LEAD Programme, the Rodney Inquiry and local government elections. It is not yet known if the indomitable Mayor Green has finally met his match but his resourcefulness is being […]

THE WALTER RODNEY INQUIRY

The Walter Rodney Inquiry dominated the news last week. The evidence given and hopefully to be given by former and current activists of the WPA and the participation of the PNCR, suggest that the Inquiry will be provided with material, information and oral evidence, to enable it to arrive at a credible conclusion. The Commissioners […]

NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE

In a wide-ranging, courageous and innovative decision, the Indian Supreme Court ruled a few weeks ago that transgenders, a broad category of persons with varying gender situations, identities and issues, are entitled to the protection of the Indian Constitution.  It held in the case of National Legal Services v Union of India and Others that […]

SLASH AND BURN

I listened intently to a television discussion last Sunday on Channel 28 sponsored through the auspices of the USAID LEAD Programme. The participants were Messrs Khemraj Ramjattan, leader of the AFC and Carl Granger, the finance spokesperson for APNU. Even for a jaded ex-politician like me, the discussion was extremely interesting. Both men spoke about […]

THE JURY SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE ABOLISHED NOT REFORMED

I have written twice over the past year urging that the jury system should be abolished. On the first occasion several lawyers, including the Attorney General, disagreed with the views I expressed. On the second occasion I repeated my views in an article publicizing the remarks of Chief Justice Ivor Archie of Trinidad and Tobago […]