THE EDITOR, Sir:
ONE THING that the letter of 'Warren Blake, FRCS' headed 'Dr. Barnett Should Resign' (Gleaner, July 13, 2004) has taught us is that the mere fact that a person places initials behind his name does not guarantee that he necessarily brings to the letter above his name the scholarly research, thought, logic and impartiality that one normally associates with academic discipline.
Mr. Blake has not cited a single interest that Dr. Lloyd Barnett has which is in any way in conflict with his carrying out his duties as a member of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
He glibly describes Dr. Barnett as an opponent of the Caribbean Court of Justice when Dr. Barnett's support for the establishment of a Caribbean final Court of Appeal goes back to before Mr. Blake's arrival on the scene of public debate.
LEADING MEMBER OF THE BAR
It was the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA) in the early 1970s that was the main advocate for the establishment of a Final Court of Appeal for the Caribbean. Dr. Barnett has been a leading member of the Bar in the Caribbean all of these years until now. He has been active in the Council of the OCCBA and held the position of Vice President from 1976 until 1981. He was President from 1981 to 1993. All these years and up until now he has supported the call for the setting up of a genuine Caribbean institution to which we could turn as our final Court of Appeal.
As part of his deep regard for and a lifetime of devotion to the establishment of various Caribbean institutions he has been insistent that such institutions should be designed to ensure their integrity and continuity so that they may serve the purpose for which they are meant.
What difficulty then can Mr. Blake have in understanding that it is entirely consistent with such ideals that Dr. Barnett can struggle to ensure that a Caribbean Court of Justice is protected from the opportunistic outpourings of narrow-minded politicians in the same breath as he serves on a Commission, the first sacred duty of which must be to ensure that those who are chosen to be judges are persons who will lay a solid foundation for the Court.
RECEIVED OVERWHELMING SUPPORT
Dr. Barnett did not seek this position. My understanding is that he received the overwhelming support of the leadership of the two regional professional organisations in the Caribbean, that is OCCBA and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean Bar Associations. He was nominated by both of these Caribbean legal professional bodies who would have subjected their decision to the collective scrutiny of the vast knowledge they bring to bear on the question as to who could best carry out this duty of serving on the Judicial Services Commission.
Mr. Blake and Mr. Franklyn's attacks on Dr. Barnett are really attacks on the independent judgement of the leadership of the Caribbean's professional associations that Dr. Barnett is an appropriate person to carry out these responsibilities.
Their attack on Dr. Barnett is yet another example of the danger of leaving in the hands of politicians the decision as to who should be our judges.
I am, etc.,
RICHARD SMALL
Advocates Chambers
advocate@cwjamaica.com
