Former Finance Minister Camilo Gonsalves emphasizes that laws must be made and amended through formal parliamentary processes rather than through executive decisions made in secret by the Cabinet.
He asserted on Monday that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a nation of laws founded on a Constitution, and bypassing established procedures is a sign of political immaturity.
Gonsalves argued that the power to tax and create law resides in the Parliament, which operates in public, whereas the Cabinet meets in secret. He warns against the “temptation” for governments with large majorities to “govern from the cabinet room” and bypass the public scrutiny of the parliamentary process.
He describes the maturity of a country by the intersection where what the law prescribes meets what a politician wants, and believes a civilised nation is one where the law wins the tug-of-war against populist political sentiment, even when the law is inconvenient.
Using the example of a “VAT-free day,” Camilo explains that if a government wants to implement a policy not currently allowed by law, it must amend the relevant Act in Parliament rather than simply declaring the law suspended. He states, “If the law does not allow you to do something, you don’t break the law. You don’t ignore the law. You have the majority. Go to parliament, change the law”.
Gonsalves warned that when legal procedures and institutions are bypassed for political convenience, it sets a dangerous precedent that can lead to mob rule or the illegal seizure of private property and materials.
On a global scale, Camilo highlights that international law specifically principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity is the only thing that guarantees the existence of small island states that lack military power and stated that these laws must be defended even when it is “inconvenient” to do so.
Gonsalves said that lawyers have a “trust” and an obligation to society to defend the law, even when it is unpopular, to ensure that the standards and expectations of a maturing democracy are upheld.