If magistrates feel they can go and play mas on Carnival days, think again.
Chief Justice Ivor Archie has sent out a memo to all magistrates in T&T, reminding them that Carnival Monday and Tuesday are not public holidays and they are required to be at work, whether physically, or on call. The memo did not go down too well with some of the magistrates. At a meeting of the magistrates in Port-of-Spain yesterday, acting Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington transferred three magistrates who objected to working on Carnival days. The transfers take effect Ash Wednesday. In his memo dated February 8, Archie wrote: "It has come to my attention that some magistrates have expressed concerns about the requirement to remain available for standby duty on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. "Carnival Monday and Tuesday are not public holidays and any relaxation of the normal requirement to attend at the place of work is by way of dispensation, and not a right," Archie said.
"The public is entitled to access to functional courts on those days if the necessity arises." The Chief Justice said magistrates were not asked to attend and sit in court all day, but must be available and accessible to perform their duties in the event that a situation arises that requires their attention. "For the avoidance of doubt, it is not for individual magistrates, if called out, to decide whether the situation indeed merits their immediate attention," he said. The CJ said he was aware that the normal contingent of police officers was not available on these days. But he said that if magistrates needed to come to court, appropriate arrangements would be made for assistance by the police getting to and from court, and for the adequate security while at court.
The decision of the Chief Justice to issue the memo followed an incident last year in which two district courts were kept closed during the Carnival days. A large number of prisoners detained by police during this period were unable to access court until Ash Wednesday. The T&T Guardian was reliably informed that last year that the police conducted numerous exercises during the Carnival period, resulting in the arrests of numerous people for various offences. Because of the unavailability of magistrates, these prisoners were not taken to the courthouses, and were jam-packed at police stations until Ash Wednesday.
The prisoners could not be taken to the state prisons because there were no remand warrants signed by the magistrates to keep the prisoners there. So, the police had to keep these prisoners at stations, in cramped conditions, some for at least 96 hours without having access to the courts. The T&T Guardian was already informed that the police plan to conduct similar exercises again during Carnival, which may results in numerous arrests. As a result, the Chief Justice moved with despatch to advise magistrates that they need to be on standby in the event this occurs, so that prisoners will have their day in court.