Rishard Khan
rishard.khan@guardian.co.tt
Five of the six Presidents of Trinidad and Tobago have a background in the legal sphere and with Senate President Christine Kangaloo nominated to replace the incumbent, there will once again be an officeholder with experience in the field.
However, the Constitution does not place such a criteria for someone to ascend to the office.
According to chapter 3, section 23 (1) of the Constitution, “A person is qualified to be nominated for election as President if, and is not so qualified unless, he is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago of the age of thirty-five years or upwards who at the date of his nomination has been ordinarily resident in Trinidad and Tobago for ten years immediately preceding his nomination.”
The only President to date without a prior background in the legal profession was George Maxwell Richards.
So what accounts for such a prevalence of officeholders who hail from the legal fraternity?
According to attorney Martin George, it may not have been a well thought out plan.
“It may just be a coincidence that, you know, many of the office holders have been persons who have had legal training, so it is certainly not a pre-requisite, nor is it a requirement, nor is it necessary at all for you to hold the Office of President, that you must have some prior legal experience or legal training,” he told Guardian Media.
Political scientist Professor Hamid Ghany also acknowledged the trend of appointing people with a legal background. However, he believes this is not what propelled the six individuals to have held the honour so far into office.
“I think a lot of it has to do with their connections to the political process. There might be an underlying perception that you would like to have someone as president who has legal qualifications,” he said.
However, he noted legal counsel can be provided to a President, rendering the need for previous legal knowledge moot.
“Sir Ellis Clarke, who was the first President, was Governor General, so the transitional provisions in the Republican Constitution converted the Office of Governor General into President. That’s how he became the first President,” he said.
For retired Justice Noor Hassanali, Ghany said it could have been his membership in the Judicial and Legal Services Commission that helped his ascension.
However, he said ANR Robinson’s appointment was more due to an “arrangement Basdeo Panday and ANR Robinson had between them as part of forming the NAR, UNC coalition.”
Presidents Anthony Carmona and Paula-Mae Weekes had successful careers in the legal profession prior to taking up office.
Ghany noted, however, that this practice could exclude other suitably qualified people from the office.
“I think the issue is really how the person would serve. If you serve with distinction and you have a distinguished career, that ought to also make you eligible for consideration but the political class that has done the nominating so far have tended to go on the side of persons with legal qualifications and some kind of judicious stature which really...does not give you the best outcome if we look at the track record over the years,” he said.
However, the opposition’s candidate for this year’s presidential appointment, Israel Khan, SC, shares a differing belief.
“On many occasions, the President will have to make a judgement call based on the law and if they do not have a legally trained mind, a person knowledgeable in the law, they would have to staff the President office with quite a few lawyers to advise the President. And lawyers are trained to really think a certain way, unlike other people and I am of the view it ought to be a legally trained person but in accordance to the Constitution, it could be anybody,” he told Guardian Media.
Presidents of T&T
Ellis Clarke:
Sept 24, 1976-Mar 19, 1987
Noor Hassanali:
Mar 20, 1987-Mar 17, 1997
Arthur NR Robinson:
Mar 18, 1997-Mar 16, 2003
George Maxwell Richards:
Mar 17, 2003-Mar 18, 2013
Anthony Carmona:
Mar 19, 2013-Mar 18, 2018
Paula-Mae Weekes:
Mar 19, 2018-Mar 2023