A Cabinet note from the Ministry of Justice indicated only that former Minister Herbert Volney had consulted with Chief Justice Ivor Archie on the proclamation date of the controversial Section 34, and did not say the CJ was in agreement with the section. The note also contains contradictory stipulations on when the Indictable Proceedings Act should come into effect.
Volney was fired on Thursday for telling the Cabinet that the Director of Public Prosecutions and the CJ were in agreement with Section 34. In her address on Thursday night, the Prime Minister said, "So having established shared responsibility by all members of Parliament for its very existence the only other question remained how did Section 34 come to be proclaimed earlier than intended? The answer lies in the Cabinet note on August 6, 2012, and the discussions that took place at that time."
The T&T Guardian obtained a copy of the note tabled by Volney. The note, no 2119 of August 6, 2012, is titled: Proposed Proclamation of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act. It explains the history and the purpose of the act, which abolishes preliminary inquiries for certain offences. It also contains conflicting recommendations on the dates when the act should come into effect.
In her account of the Cabinet discussion of the note, the PM said: "I specifically inquired of the Honourable Minister of Justice whether the Honourable Chief Justice and the DPP were consulted on these measures. The Honourable Minister of Justice drew my attention to paragraph five of the note which stated that the Honourable Chief Justice had been consulted on the date for proclamation. He then confirmed to the Cabinet that he had the support and approval of both the Chief Justice and the DPP on this matter."
Cabinet was thus led to believe, she said, that "the judiciary and the DPP were adequately consulted and fully supported the earlier implementation of this measure as a precursor to the rest of the act coming into force on January 1, 2013."
However, the paragraph in which Volney refers to consultations with the CJ says they agreed the act "shall come into effect in its entirety on January 2, 2013." The note does not mention the DPP.
The next paragraph then says it is necessary for part of the act to be proclaimed on August 31, 2012. Paragraph 5 of the note reads: "The Minister of Justice has consulted with the Honourable Chief Justice on a date for the coming into effect of the measures introduced in the act and it has been agreed that the Indictable Offences (Preliminary Enquiry) Act be repealed and the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act 2011 shall come into effect in its entirety on January 2, 2013."
Paragraph 6 then says in fact part of the act should be proclaimed early, and offers a rationale for the early proclamation. Paragraph 6 reads: "In order to facilitate a seamless operational transition it is necessary for the act to be proclaimed in part on August 31, 2012 in order to inform the need, inter alia, for the creation of eight new positions of Masters by an amendment to the Supreme Court of Judicature Act. This will give authority for the recruitment and appointment of Masters of the High Court by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission in order that the act may be operationalised on its effective date of January 2, 2013."