Campaigners welcome Throne Speech constitutional pledge
A pressure group that has long called for an overhaul of the judicial complaints system has welcomed a government pledge to improve accountability in senior constitutional posts.
LeYoni Junos, of the Civil Justice Advocacy Group, said the inclusion in last week’s Throne Speech of a promise to bring in a “revised legal framework” for handling disciplinary matters was well overdue.
“I think the complaints we have made over the years have put a spotlight on the lack of accountability when it comes to these top posts,” she told The Royal Gazette.
“The judges claim and enjoy ‘judicial immunity’ without any real accountability.
“This breeds arrogance and a systemic air of untouchability, instead of public service without fear or favour.”
The Bermuda Equal Justice Initiative also issued a statement welcoming what it called a plan to “create and foster a suitable framework for holding individuals in important public positions accountable”. The statement added: “ … we trust that these reforms will provide a workable structure that balances accountability with independence.”
The Governor, Rena Lalgie, reading the Throne Speech last Friday, said: “In recent years, the independent regime by which [constitutional] appointments are made has been found wanting when the rare occasion arises for disciplinary oversight of appointees. This must be remedied.”
Ms Lalgie said Government House and the Government would work together to develop a revised legal framework for accountability in senior constitutional positions.
She added: “Public confidence in such high offices is of paramount importance given the power those appointed have to significantly impact the lives of Bermuda’s people.”
Ms Lalgie did not specifically mention judges but the pledge comes after a Court of Appeal ruling from January found that a committee formed to advise the Governor on judicial appointments and complaints about judges could not properly deal with the latter.
That civil case was brought against the Governor by Ms Junos, on behalf of the CJAG.
Government House said last week that there were six complaints at present against substantive or acting judges or magistrates and they would be considered once an amended protocol for the Judicial and Legal Services Committee was approved.
The plan for reform also follows a Gazettereport last month about the absence from court since July of Puisne Judge Nicole Stoneham, the head of the Bermuda judiciary’s matrimonial jurisdiction, who is said by sources to have been suspended.
The CJAG, which formed more than a decade ago after a group of litigants were unable to get transcripts of their own court cases, is set to put out a report soon on the state of the judiciary. Ms Junos said it would cover the “issues we have uncovered to date”.
The group filed its latest complaint last week.
Ms Junos wrote to Ms Lalgie on November 5 on behalf of the group alleging that three Court of Appeal judges exerted “improper influence” in a civil matter.
She asked for an investigation into the actions of Sir Christopher Clarke, the president of the Court of Appeal, and appeal justices Ian Kawaley and Geoffrey Bell in relation to their handling of judicial reviews concerning the Commission of Inquiry into Historical Land Losses.
The letter also claimed Supreme Court Registrar Alexandra Wheatley, in her capacity as an acting appeal judge, was not acting independently.
The Gazette asked the Governor and judges for comment on the complaint but no response was received by press time.
In 2019, court recordings that judges claimed did not exist and which detectives failed to find during a criminal investigation were uncovered during an inquiry by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Members of the CJAG fought to get the audio discs for more than seven years from the Judicial Department. Ms Junos said at the time that people representing themselves in court stood little chance “against a judiciary that’s not operating in keeping with the Constitution and the oath of office they took”.
The Bermuda Equal Justice Initiative said last week’s Throne Speech represented a “missed opportunity” to address critical areas of justice reform.
The pressure group, while welcoming plans to amend the Jurors Act and improve accountability in senior constitutional posts, said in a statement that more was needed.
"We commend the Government for attempting to address issues critical to the social and economic wellbeing of Bermuda’s citizens,“ it said. ”However, justice requires actions and results, not lofty political ideas and plans.“
The BEJI called for funding for an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate historical injustices in the courts and increased resources for legal aid reform and access to overseas counsel.
The statement said: “The disturbingly small number of suitably qualified local counsel available to conduct trials before the Bermuda courts continues to be a significant barrier to timely justice.
“This shortage, highlighted earlier this year by the Court of Appeal, leaves defendants waiting months, and in many cases years, before receiving a trial.
“If the Government is serious about creating a fairer Bermuda, it will have to do more than make empty political promises.“
• UPDATE: this story has been edited as it incorrectly stated that CJAG’s latest complaint to the Governor related to the JLSC. The complaint actually relates to judicial reviews concerning the Commission of Inquiry into Historical Land Losses
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