OUR PASSIVE LAWYERS

THERE  are about 4,000 registered attorneys, according to the official listing of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago. 

Any 25 lawyers could request a special general meeting of the association, according to Section 23 (1) of the Legal Profession Act. 

That is less than one per cent of all attorneys in the land. 

The association must summon such a meeting within 30 days of receiving the petition. 

Apart from being an explosive political issue, the Al Rawi-Vincent Nelson debacle is a crucial legal matter that weighs on ethics and misbehaviour in public office. 

The association’s roles and responsibilities are “to uphold the constitution and the law.” 

The organisation “seeks to achieve its goals at all times in the noble tradition of professional independence, integrity, and social responsibility.” 

Yet, the association has not raised its voice on this stench in public affairs, nor have a mere 25 members united to insist upon a meeting of minds. 

Maybe progressive members are reluctant after failing to gain consensus against Chief Justice Ivor Archie at the last special general meeting. 

Or maybe they are hedging their personal bets against a ruling regime known to be vindictive and autocratic. 

To be fair, a select few – most notably Martin Daly S.C. and the Assembly of Southern Lawyers – have expressed outrage over the administration of justice.  

By its general inaction, the passive legal profession has joined other sheepish sectors – business, labour, academia, civic organisations – that have lost their respective voices in the midst of a national scandal. 

The nation is in deeper crap than we had feared!