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Supreme Court Siding With PM In Battle With Judge?
posted (March 8, 2019)

Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister took a swipe at Supreme Court judge, Courtney Abel, and today the Supreme Court gave a guarded response, but one that actually seems to bolster the PM’s position.

In an address to the business community, the PM didn’t name Abel, but said that a Supreme Court Judge had been “downright rudeâ€￾ to government’s crown counsels.  Here are his remarks from February 21st. 

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“I stick absolutely faithfully to the requirement that we never questioned judicial integrity. But justice is not a cloistered virtue and when there is what appears to be unremitting judicial hostility, when this goes beyond mere impatient descends into downright incivility. Absolutely upsetting the equilibrium of especially young crown counsel and lawyers who spend a world of time preparing their argument, only to be dismissed in the most slighting manner. I will use my bully-pulpit to speak out against that. I will tell you I'm not just doing it today. We have officially made a complaint about that sort of behaviour."

And, in today’s statement, the Court seems to have heard that complaint loud and clear.

The statement from the court says, quote, “the Judiciary is not exempt from fair criticism…the public and practicing Bar are assured that discourtesy from the Bench is neither acceptable nor to be condoned. Judicial conduct falling short of expected standards should be reported to the Chief Justice and definitive complaints in writing will be investigated with due process by the Chief Justice or the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.â€￾

That cannot be considered the stout defence of Justice Abel that some might have expected, and it suggests that the Guyanese Judge may be somewhat on his own in this matter - facing fire from no less than the Prime Minister.  

Abel was appointed to the bench in 2012, and in judicial circles is considered no nonsense.  The alleged mal-treatment of government’s crown counsels arises from a case where Justice Abel made a ruling that has cost government millions in tax revenue: he said that business taxes that the Belize Bank owes the government can be held against the unpaid UHS debt that the Government owes the Belize Bank.  Government has said it will appeal.  On February 21st  - one month after the judgement - the Prime Minister announced that the tax offset had deprived the treasury of approximately 14.1 million dollars. 

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