Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says former C.O.P. Colin John was appointed senior magistrate by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and a letter by the SVG Bar Association cannot disappoint him.
Gonsalves spoke to the issue during his presentation at the 2024 estimates on December 19.
In a letter to the Chief Justice, the SVG Bar Association stated that John’s appointment as senior magistrate would “further erode public trust and confidence in the judiciary and be likely to bring the justice system into further disrepute.”.
“I noticed that there’s a commentary by the Bar Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who wrote to the Chief Justice about his worship, Mr. Colin John, that because he was a Commissioner of Police, he can’t be a magistrate, and also because he’s a man. You should have another woman. Well, do they know whether we’re going to get another woman? for the senior magistrate position coming up.”.
Gonsalves said in Anguilla The senior magistrate there was a former commissioner of police, and we had similar instances here in SVG before.
“There was no outcry when he worshipped Bertie Pompey, who acted as commissioner of police in this country for a year and was deputy commissioner. None was said about his appointment, nor about the appointment of ASP Ballah.”.
”I don’t know why some people decide to pick on the new senior magistrate. The Judicial and Legal Services Commission has appointed him. And a bar association just can’t write the chief justice, and the magistrate is disappointed. There are rules, there are laws, and there’s a constitution. I don’t want to say more about that, just to say that people really get carried away with their own notions about what is said in their echo chamber.”.
Gonsalves told parliament he was commenting as someone familiar with the law because he has no rule in this regard.
“We have a separation of powers, so I want to make that absolutely clear,” Gonsalves said.
The St. Lucia-based Judicial & Legal Service Commission (JLSC) says it will “investigate further” concerns raised by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Bar Association (SVGBA) regarding the appointment of former police commissioner Colin John as a senior magistrate.
