Derek Achong

Se­nior Re­porter

derek.achong@guardian.co.tt

Em­i­nent Se­nior Coun­sel Ramesh Lawrence Ma­haraj has ex­pressed con­fi­dence in the abil­i­ty of new­ly-ap­point­ed Chief Jus­tice Ron­nie Boodoos­ingh to en­hance the ad­min­is­tra­tion of jus­tice in T&T

Ma­haraj, a for­mer at­tor­ney gen­er­al, made the re­marks yes­ter­day in a record­ed state­ment con­grat­u­lat­ing CJ Boodoos­ingh on his ap­point­ment.

Ac­knowl­edg­ing pub­lic con­cerns over the con­sul­ta­tion process used by Sen­ate Pres­i­dent Wade Mark—con­duct­ed in the ab­sence of Pres­i­dent Chris­tine Kan­ga­loo—Ma­haraj said the se­lec­tion of a Chief Jus­tice is of “great con­sti­tu­tion­al im­por­tance.”

“The con­sul­ta­tion process for the ap­point­ment of a Chief Jus­tice is cru­cial to en­sure fair­ness and trans­paren­cy,” he said. “It pro­motes the in­de­pen­dence of the Ju­di­cia­ry, strength­ens pub­lic con­fi­dence, and helps se­cure the ap­point­ment of a suit­able and im­par­tial Chief Jus­tice.”

Ma­haraj added that, re­gard­less of de­bate over the process, CJ Boodoos­ingh is well-qual­i­fied and de­serv­ing of the post.

“He has con­sis­tent­ly demon­strat­ed ded­i­ca­tion to du­ty, in­tegri­ty, com­mit­ment to ju­di­cial in­de­pen­dence, and re­spect for the Rule of Law, along­side a deep knowl­edge of the law,” he said.

Call­ing on cit­i­zens to sup­port the new Chief Jus­tice, Ma­haraj stressed the im­por­tance of pub­lic trust in the Ju­di­cia­ry.

“The prop­er func­tion­ing of the ad­min­is­tra­tion of jus­tice in our coun­try is an every­day con­cern for the pub­lic, who have a vest­ed right in see­ing it op­er­ate ef­fec­tive­ly,” he said.

At­tor­ney Yaseen Ahmed, a for­mer class­mate of CJ Boodoos­ingh at Pre­sen­ta­tion Col­lege, San Fer­nan­do, and a fel­low stu­dent at the Uni­ver­si­ty of the West In­dies and Hugh Wood­ing Law School, al­so praised the ap­point­ment.

“I can vouch for his high lev­el of in­tegri­ty, con­sis­tent aca­d­e­m­ic per­for­mance, and ser­vice to a wider au­di­ence,” Ahmed said, not­ing that CJ Boodoos­ingh served as pres­i­dent of the law school’s Stu­dent Coun­cil.

“His tenure as a High Court judge was equal­ly im­pres­sive. There­fore, his ap­point­ment to lead the Ju­di­cia­ry was im­pec­ca­bly made,” he added.