Entirely unfounded, untrue – CCJ President fires back at claims of influencing judgments, panel fixing

President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Winston Anderson, has rejected recent allegations of “panel fixing” at the regional court aimed at securing particular outcomes – something which he says strikes at the heart of judicial independence. On Friday, Justice Anderson issued a 9-page statement describing the claims made as “wholly untrue”.
The issue, he explained, stemmed from the composition of a CCJ interlocutory panel constituted to hear a procedural preliminary application in a matter involving Trinidad and Tobago – D’Almada v Trinidad and Tobago. Justice Anderson said a fellow CCJ judge was removed from that panel over dress code concerns and had nothing to do with the merits of the case or the anticipated outcome.
“At the time of the removal from the interlocutory panel and replacement by another colleague, I made it abundantly clear in writing that the Judge’s removal from that particular panel was based solely upon the issue of judicial attire and that it had nothing whatsoever to do with the Judge’s opinions, participation in judicial conferences or deliberations, or the expression of judicial views,” the CCJ President contended.

Pointing out that the composition of panels has always formed part of the administrative responsibilities of the court’s President, Justice Anderson contended that this long-established institutional practice aims at ensuring the orderly, efficient and impartial administration of justice, and was never exercised to influence the outcome of any proceedings.
“Among the allegations that have recently surfaced publicly, perhaps the most serious wound is the suggestion that panels of the Court have been constituted or altered in order to secure a particular outcome in a case. Such an allegation strikes at the very heart of judicial independence and public confidence in the administration of justice. It therefore warrants a clear and direct response. The allegation is wholly untrue,” he emphasised.
In fact, the CCJ President noted that during that panel hearing, all five Judges unanimously agreed that leave ought properly to have been granted to permit the substantive matter to proceed, and he directed the matter to Full Bench which includes the judge who had been removed.

Unfounded and untrue
Nervertheless, Justice Anderson went onto outline that CCJ judges, over the past decades, have consistently discharged their constitutional responsibilities independently, impartially and without regard to national origin, political consideration or personal interest. He said suggesting otherwise not only undermines an individual Judge, but confidence in Caribbean justice itself.
Contending that independence of the judiciary is the cornerstone upon the regional court was establish, Justice Anderson asserted that no CCJ Judge can or should be restrained from expressing their judicial views or deciding any matter based on their independent assessment of the law and the evidence.
“It is therefore with particular concern that I have noted suggestions in the public domain that I have sought to influence the outcome of cases before the Court. Those allegations are entirely unfounded and untrue,” he stated.
According to the CCJ President, judicial conferences in any appellate court usually involve spirited discussion, differing legal analyses and careful consideration of competing views before a final judgment is settled. This, he argued, is not evidence of disagreement but of Judges conscientiously performing their judicial functions.
“Throughout my judicial career, both as a Judge and now as President, I have regarded judicial independence as inviolable. It is a principle that I have consistently defended and will continue to defend,” Justice Anderson declared.
Moreover, he further strongly condemned in Friday’s statement the unauthorised disclosure and publication of confidential material relating to the internal deliberations and confidential correspondence of the CCJ – something which he says erodes trusts in the region court.
In fact, Heads of Judiciary from across the Caribbean earlier this week expressing grave concern over the disclosure of the confidential internal communications among the court’s Judges.
On Tuesday, the Heads of the Judiciary of Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago stated they would not comment on the merits of statements or allegations attributed to individual Judges, nor on matters arising from the court’s internal deliberative or administrative processes but reaffirmed their confidence in the CCJ.
Further weighing in on the controversy, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall also stressed that the CCJ is Guyana’s final court and, as such, must be respected.