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The Ministry
of Legal Affairs can be considered the
guardian of the administration of
Justice in Grenada, Carriacou, and
Petite Martinique, and so it must be
given the necessary resources and status
it deserves. However, since July 8th,
it appears that a department in that
Ministry is being used for witch hunting
and victimization, while there are so
many urgent matters to be addressed in
the public’s interest.
Over the
years, the NNP Government was accused by
the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
of interfering with the judiciary. This
accusation was baseless, unfounded and
without any merit. Today many
Grenadians are questioning the grounds
for so many high profile cases to be
thrown out of the court system, but it
appears that the Government is not
concerned about this matter or they are
not hearing the concerns being raised in
public. Is justice being administered
fairly or is there a deliberate effort
to control the judiciary. One just have
to observe what has been happening and
they will be alarmed.
In the 2009
budget debate, no mention was made of
Juvenile Justice. This is an important
area in which the NNP administration has
started a tremendous amount of work,
through the Ministries of Education,
Youth, Social Development and Legal
Affairs. The NDC in Opposition had
always pointed out the need for a
Juvenile Rehabilitation Centre knowing
that it was the intention of the
Government then, to construct a
facility. However it is interesting to
note that no mention was made of whether
or not the NDC will continue the work of
the NNP to enact laws to deal with
delinquent juveniles.
The NNP
administration was always concerned
about the number of first time offenders
who have to go to Richmond Hill to mix
with the experienced criminals and as a
result would have started the
construction of a facility in St
Andrew’s, to help with the
rehabilitation of these individuals.
Interesting, on assuming office the
project which was costing about four
million dollars and was almost completed
is being prolonged by the NDC
administration. One can imagine that
this is done because the NDC had
promised the people of the area that
they will change the facility from a
rehab centre to a community centre.
It is also
interesting to note that no mention was
made in the 2009 budget debate of the
Government’s intention to pursue a Legal
Profession Act for Grenada. This is not
surprising, since members of the
administration were never in support of
the effort if the NNP administration’s
to get this done. This act is needed
urgently to regulate the conduct of
lawyers in the practice of law
especially as it relates to their
relationship with their clients. While
there are a number of lawyers who are
known to be upright in their practice
and is well respected, there are too
many complains about those lawyers who
represent the defendant and the
complainant in the same case. There are
too many complaints about lawyers taking
monies from clients and instead of
depositing it in a special fund would
use the client’s funds. There must be
some regulation to control these
practices by those who are allowed to
get away with it.
The Prime
Minister and Minister for Legal Affairs
seem not to be in charge of the Ministry
which appears to be run by surrogates of
the NDC. However, as a lawyer the Prime
Minister must not be just be concerned
about the clients who are affected, but
he must also be concerned about Grenada.
It is plain to see that the actions of
the over zealous activists of the NDC
who are allowed to get involved in the
running of the Government and the
Ministry of Legal Affairs, will only
lead to the destruction of Grenada.
The former
Minister for Legal Affairs has set the
foundation for the Prime Minister to
build on. There is an approved plan and
drawing for a Legal and Judicial Complex
(the deed has already been issued) which
is expected to enhance the work of that
Ministry. Over the last few years the
NNP administration had substantially
achieved most of its mandates including
its legislative agenda. Some of the
note worthy legislation and enactments
include: the Ombudsman Act, the
Integrity in Public Life Act, the
Prevention of Corruption in Public Life
Act, the Freedom of Information Act.
Much work was done on upgrading and
computerizing of the lands registry of
the Supreme Court. With the assistance
of the World Intellectual Property
Organisation much work was also done in
establishing an Intellectual Property
Rights Office in the Ministry. This
office will among other things help to
protect the work of local artistes like
or Calypsonians and Song Writers.
We therefore
call on the Prime Minister who holds the
portfolio of Minister for Legal Affairs
to lead from the front and to build on
the work started by the NNP in the
Ministry of Legal Affairs.
NNP
Perspective week ending May 1st,
2009
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