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The Attorney General, the constitution, and the rule of law
O Hilaire Sobers
Saturday, January 19, 2008
In a recent radio interview, the attorney general, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, justified her intervention in personnel matters relating to the AG's Chambers on the basis that it is a department of the Ministry of Justice. The attorney general also holds the post of minister of justice. Previously, an executive committee of the AG's Chambers (comprising the solicitor general, deputy solicitors general, and five divisional directors) had assumed responsibility for processing personnel matters prior to submitting recommendations to the Public Service Commission. This practice was in keeping with the separation of powers, so to speak, between the political role of the attorney general and the administrative role of the solicitor general.
It seems to have escaped Senator Lightbourne that the position of attorney general is constitutionally established by section 79 of Jamaica's constitution. This post is not subordinate to any other position, such as the minister of justice. While it has been traditional for the attorney general to be concurrently minister of justice, these are quite disparate positions in law. Under the constitution, the post of attorney general (as chief legal adviser to the government) is not a Cabinet post. In contrast to Cabinet ministers, there is no requirement for the attorney general to be a member of either the upper or lower chamber of Parliament. Cabinet ministers, it should be noted, are appointed pursuant to section 70 of the constitution.
Constitutionally, the attorney general does not report to the justice minister or any other Cabinet minister (save for the prime minister). Accordingly, by extension, there would seem to be no constitutional or legal basis for members of the AG's Chambers to report to the ministry of justice. Certainly, for administrative purposes only, the Attorney General's Chambers falls under the portfolio umbrella of the Justice Ministry, as does the director of public prosecutions, and the Supreme Court. If in her capacity as justice minister, Senator Lightbourne considers that she has the right to interfere with personnel decisions in the Attorney General's Chambers, it must follow therefore that she feels she can do likewise with the Department of Public Prosecutions, and perhaps even dictate to the chief justice who should be appointed to staff the registry of the Supreme Court.
For sound reasons, the constitution excludes politicians from interfering in the management of public service personnel matters. Evidently, Senator Lightbourne does not consider the constitution to be a "shackle" in this regard, given her recent directive for Lackston Robinson to be reinstated in the Chambers of the Attorney General. The Attorney General's disregard for the constitution is compounded by the fact that her directive was apparently issued while litigation was still pending between Mr Robinson and the Public Service Commission.
As attorney general, Senator Lightbourne should be the chief guardian of the rule of law, and accordingly, maintain a judicial distance above the political fray. Instead, it seems that the learned attorney general has not only failed in this regard, but instead, appears to have placed herself above the law.
O Hilaire Sobers is a human rights lawyer based in Washington, DC.
ohilaire@yahoo.com
O Hilaire Sobers
Saturday, January 19, 2008
In a recent radio interview, the attorney general, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, justified her intervention in personnel matters relating to the AG's Chambers on the basis that it is a department of the Ministry of Justice. The attorney general also holds the post of minister of justice. Previously, an executive committee of the AG's Chambers (comprising the solicitor general, deputy solicitors general, and five divisional directors) had assumed responsibility for processing personnel matters prior to submitting recommendations to the Public Service Commission. This practice was in keeping with the separation of powers, so to speak, between the political role of the attorney general and the administrative role of the solicitor general.
It seems to have escaped Senator Lightbourne that the position of attorney general is constitutionally established by section 79 of Jamaica's constitution. This post is not subordinate to any other position, such as the minister of justice. While it has been traditional for the attorney general to be concurrently minister of justice, these are quite disparate positions in law. Under the constitution, the post of attorney general (as chief legal adviser to the government) is not a Cabinet post. In contrast to Cabinet ministers, there is no requirement for the attorney general to be a member of either the upper or lower chamber of Parliament. Cabinet ministers, it should be noted, are appointed pursuant to section 70 of the constitution.
Constitutionally, the attorney general does not report to the justice minister or any other Cabinet minister (save for the prime minister). Accordingly, by extension, there would seem to be no constitutional or legal basis for members of the AG's Chambers to report to the ministry of justice. Certainly, for administrative purposes only, the Attorney General's Chambers falls under the portfolio umbrella of the Justice Ministry, as does the director of public prosecutions, and the Supreme Court. If in her capacity as justice minister, Senator Lightbourne considers that she has the right to interfere with personnel decisions in the Attorney General's Chambers, it must follow therefore that she feels she can do likewise with the Department of Public Prosecutions, and perhaps even dictate to the chief justice who should be appointed to staff the registry of the Supreme Court.
For sound reasons, the constitution excludes politicians from interfering in the management of public service personnel matters. Evidently, Senator Lightbourne does not consider the constitution to be a "shackle" in this regard, given her recent directive for Lackston Robinson to be reinstated in the Chambers of the Attorney General. The Attorney General's disregard for the constitution is compounded by the fact that her directive was apparently issued while litigation was still pending between Mr Robinson and the Public Service Commission.
As attorney general, Senator Lightbourne should be the chief guardian of the rule of law, and accordingly, maintain a judicial distance above the political fray. Instead, it seems that the learned attorney general has not only failed in this regard, but instead, appears to have placed herself above the law.
O Hilaire Sobers is a human rights lawyer based in Washington, DC.
ohilaire@yahoo.com
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