PRESIDENT, CJ OUT IN MARCH?

TRINIDAD and Tobago could have the historic peculiarity next March of both the offices of President and Chief Justice being vacant at the same time. 

President Paula-Mae Weekes’ term of office ends on March 19, and it is likely that she would be replaced. 

Chief Justice Ivor Archie is bidding to become a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) next March when a vacancy crops up for a regional jurist. 

If both offices are vacated at around the same time, there could be a constitutional challenge, since the President appoints a Chief Justice. 

The Rowley Government, which controls the Electoral College by its majority number of votes, is reportedly looking at a new nominee for the office of Head of State. 

Weekes has a low standing in the national community, confirmed by public surveys and critical comments on traditional and social media. 

She was widely criticised for her speech at the start of the parliamentary term, with commentators accusing her of being out-of-sync with reality. 

Among those said to be under consideration is a former Governor of the Central Bank. 

While the ex-Governor does not have a legal background, there is a precedent for such an office-holder, with academic Max Richards, who served for 10 years ending in March 2013. 

Archie has shown interest in being named to the ICJ, the main judicial arm of the 193-member United Nations. 

The Court settles disputes between UN member states in accordance with relevant international laws. 

There are 15 ICJ judges, with two being allotted from the Caribbean and Latin America. 

Eminent Jamaican Patrick Robinson, 78, retires next March at the end of a nine-year tenure. 

There are reports that the Trinidad and Tobago authorities have lobbied leaders of the Caribbean and Latin America to support Archie’s nomination. 

The CJ recently attended a jurist conference in Ghana, and there is speculation about him holding discussions with relevant officials. 

The T&T constitution gives the President the authority to name a Chief Justice, after consultations with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. 

Appeal Court judges Allan Mendonca and Alice Yorke-Soo Hon are considered the most senior jurists after CJ Archie. 

But the President could consider others in appointing a CJ. 

When Archie was appointed Chief Justice in 2008, he was not the most senior jurist, and at age 48, was one of the youngest to be appointed to that elevated post. 

His term of office has been controversial, with calls from the Law Association for his impeachment. 

Weekes was a member of the Appeal Court from 2005 until her retirement in 2016. 

She served as an Appeal Court judge in the Turks & Caicos Islands from September 2016 until being nominated as Head of State. 

The political opposition supported her nomination, and she was elected without a vote. 

In her maiden address, she promised to listen to society’s concerns. 

But critics have decried her for silence in the midst of raging national issues and her frequent international travels.