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Dual citizenship case in Grenada - Jamaican lawyer under fire for suggesting OECS court could be tainted
published: Sunday | September 30, 2007
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):
Hugh Wildman, a Jamaican lawyer who advises the government here, has come under fire for suggesting the court system in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) could be tainted.
The outspoken Wildman said last week that Opposition MP Peter David might have been given special treatment by the court, which ruled in his favour in his dual citizenship legal battle.
A former attorney-general and a television talk-show host are among those who have blasted him for the comments.
Former Attorney-General, Dr. Francis Alexis, who represented David, said Wildman, who has consistently criticised local and regional courts, should not be allowed to get away with imputing improper motives to the appeal court.
"I just don't see how Mr. Wildman could be allowed to get away with these statements. I just can't see it," said Dr. Alexis. "I have personally spoken to the president of the Bar, Ruggles Ferguson, that in my considered view, Mr. Wildman cannot be allowed to get away with these statements."
The Grenada Bar Association has called on government to reprimand Wildman, who operates as the legal adviser to Cabinet. Ferguson described his comments as another embarrassment to the government and people of Grenada.
Disgrace
"The latest attack confirms further the position of the Bar that Mr. Wildman is unsuitable to hold the office that he holds or in fact, any public office in this country," Ferguson told reporters. "He is a disgrace to the government of Grenada. He is a disgrace to the legal profession."
Wildman and the Grenada Bar Association have been at loggerheads over the association's lingering campaign to stop him from being appointed to the position of attorney-general.
A local television talk-show host, Brian Pit, is also criticising Wildman and said the Grenada Cabinet should call on him to withdraw his comments.
"There is the legal adviser to the Cabinet of this country making the kind of remarks that seem to be rallying the general public against the OECS Court of Appeal and its decisions," Pit said.
"We should not, as public officers, be making statements that could be construed as the court being corrupt or the court being contaminated. This is the final court of appeal in the OECS. I think we have to have respect for that institution."
Last week, the court dismissed a motion by Attorney-General Elvin Nimrod for it to grant leave to government to take the citizenship case against David to the Privy Council. It also awarded cost of EC$1,000.00 (US $374) to David. The case made its way to court one year ago, when government questioned David's rights to run for parliamentary office and to sit in Parliament as the representative for the town of St. George while holding Canadian citizenship.
published: Sunday | September 30, 2007
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):
Hugh Wildman, a Jamaican lawyer who advises the government here, has come under fire for suggesting the court system in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) could be tainted.
The outspoken Wildman said last week that Opposition MP Peter David might have been given special treatment by the court, which ruled in his favour in his dual citizenship legal battle.
A former attorney-general and a television talk-show host are among those who have blasted him for the comments.
Former Attorney-General, Dr. Francis Alexis, who represented David, said Wildman, who has consistently criticised local and regional courts, should not be allowed to get away with imputing improper motives to the appeal court.
"I just don't see how Mr. Wildman could be allowed to get away with these statements. I just can't see it," said Dr. Alexis. "I have personally spoken to the president of the Bar, Ruggles Ferguson, that in my considered view, Mr. Wildman cannot be allowed to get away with these statements."
The Grenada Bar Association has called on government to reprimand Wildman, who operates as the legal adviser to Cabinet. Ferguson described his comments as another embarrassment to the government and people of Grenada.
Disgrace
"The latest attack confirms further the position of the Bar that Mr. Wildman is unsuitable to hold the office that he holds or in fact, any public office in this country," Ferguson told reporters. "He is a disgrace to the government of Grenada. He is a disgrace to the legal profession."
Wildman and the Grenada Bar Association have been at loggerheads over the association's lingering campaign to stop him from being appointed to the position of attorney-general.
A local television talk-show host, Brian Pit, is also criticising Wildman and said the Grenada Cabinet should call on him to withdraw his comments.
"There is the legal adviser to the Cabinet of this country making the kind of remarks that seem to be rallying the general public against the OECS Court of Appeal and its decisions," Pit said.
"We should not, as public officers, be making statements that could be construed as the court being corrupt or the court being contaminated. This is the final court of appeal in the OECS. I think we have to have respect for that institution."
Last week, the court dismissed a motion by Attorney-General Elvin Nimrod for it to grant leave to government to take the citizenship case against David to the Privy Council. It also awarded cost of EC$1,000.00 (US $374) to David. The case made its way to court one year ago, when government questioned David's rights to run for parliamentary office and to sit in Parliament as the representative for the town of St. George while holding Canadian citizenship.
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