THE EDITOR, Sir:I NOTE with amusement an article in today's (April 21) newspaper about the positions of the Attorney General and of the Advocates' Association in relation to representation on the General Legal Council.
I have been trying to get an application form (yes, an application form!) from the Association for some three years. I have also been trying for some three years to find out, from the association if it has a constitution.
To date I have seen neither an application form nor a constitution nor the qualifications for membership. It may be that for reasons best known to itself that the so-called Association would refuse my application. But it seems to me that I should be entitled to at least apply to a body, which is parading as an association of advocates.
In June of 2002 there was talk of the Attorney General extending certain additional privileges to the association. On June 14, 2002, I wrote the Attorney-General and sent him details of my several and varied attempts over the preceding year to get an application form. My letter (which incidentally was copied to the then president of the Advocates' Association concluded as follows:
"In short Sir, it seems an inescapable conclusion that the Advocates' Association of Jamaica is today a sham or a phantom or if it does exist it is run in a slipshod, disorganised and exclusionary fashion.
Such an organisation should be regarded as unworthy of the statutory and other status which it now enjoys and could hardly be seriously regarded as a candidate for the expanded set of privileges planned for it."
I note that the talk in 2002 of the Attorney-General extending additional privileges to this Association has now proved to be true.
I regret to say that I have not had the courtesy of an acknowledgement, let alone an answer, from the Attorney General.
But then it has only been one year and ten months since I wrote to him so maybe I should just be patient.
DEREK JONES
Attorney-at-Law
21 East Street
Kingston
