Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley believes High Court Judge Frank Seepersad went overboard in criticising Commissioner of Police (CoP) Erla Harewood-Christopher for her justification of delaying decisions on a backlog of Firearm User’s Licence (FUL) applications. But he said the commissioner must take responsibility.
He also reminded the public that Government, not judges, make policies.
Rowley was responding to a question from Desiree De Freitas at the Conversations with the Prime Minister at the Exodus Steel Orchestra panyard in Tunapuna on Tuesday night.
De Freitas asked Rowley to comment on Harewood-Christopher telling the court she was too busy to deal with a seven-year FUL application.
A Tobago businessman brought the case against Harewood-Christopher over an almost three-year delay in deciding on his FUL application. During the hearing, the court heard the delay was due to several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a backlog of over 25,000 applications, and two audits.
Seepersad noted that determining FUL applications is a core function of her office and found it outrageous that a sitting CoP would adopt a “Well, I have plenty of work to do” stance to defend her hold-up.
Rowley said he did not think Harewood-Christopher used that defence. The Prime Minister said he enquired what happened. He discovered that Harewood-Christopher did not submit an affidavit to the court herself. Instead, a senior member representing the Police Service (TTPS) put an affidavit to the court that raised eyebrows.
Rowley said he learned an in-house lawyer cleared the affidavit that provoked the judge. He said such a foolish statement would annoy anyone.
More importantly, Rowley said there is a need for proper legal representation when the Government, whether the Prime Minister, the Commissioner of Police or other high offices, have to go to court.
“There are such serious implications that the Government must always be represented by proper high-level, competent lawyers. Some other lawyers who make the court a business of knocking the Government down are quite happy when a lawyer could settle an affidavit like that and go and tell the court what you just read out there,” Rowley said.
The Prime Minister said he could not argue with Seepersad, who received that affidavit ascribed to Harewood-Christopher, as it did not make her look good. Although an officer made the statement, Rowley said Harewood-Christopher takes responsibility, as she should have known what others say on her behalf.
“I have been taken to court on many occasions as Prime Minister. Nobody is going to court representing me on any affidavit unless I know what is being said there.”
Meanwhile, Rowley said it is all good for the Judiciary to criticise the Government, but it has to be careful that it does not portray that it makes policy. Under T&T’s governance system, he said policy is for the Cabinet and approved by Parliament.
“Activist judges who speak as though they could make the policy and guide public servants what to do, I am saying that the Government’s policy ought to be respected. The Government has no policy to arm the population, like Gary Griffith has been doing and advocating in the political arena. A PNM Government has a different approach.”
Rowley said Government wants to get firearms to the population in a controlled and serviced manner through screening. He said the conversation cannot be that everyone is entitled to a gun because there is a crime, and a judge says so.