Editorial | Who has it in for the CCJ?

Were this newspaper given to conspiracy theories, it might believe that there is a deliberate attempt to undermine and collapse the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) from within. Either that, or some people at the court possess disastrously poor judgement.

The Gleaner makes these observations in the context of a new round of leaked internal, and presumably confidential, emails in which one of the court’s justices, Peter Jamadar, again criticised its president, Winston Anderson, this time over the conduct of an investigation into the first set of leaks.

For the avoidance of doubt, The Gleaner’s Editorial Board has no qualms about, or criticism of, the Trinidad Express newspaper for publishing the contents of the emails after receiving them. There is public-interest value in the matter, which the paper had a legitimate journalistic right to pursue, once it acted ethically and within the canons of the profession. Having covered those bases, the Express has an obligation to protect its sources in the course of any investigation.

What happens, or happened, inside the court, where judges should expect and preserve the confidentiality of sensitive communications between colleagues, is an entirely different matter. At the CCJ, confidentiality is not assured. Indeed, the place is like a sieve. Leaks have seemingly been weaponised in a way that goes beyond questioning the management skills and character of Justice Anderson, and poses an existential threat to the court.

In that regard, it is critical that the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC) speaks with clarity about how it has approached the investigation of the ‘email-gate’ saga at the CCJ and the resolution of conflicts and tensions that have arisen between Justice Anderson and the other judges.

The CCJ, in its original jurisdiction, interprets the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, upon which the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the regional economic grouping, rests. It also acts as the final court, in criminal and civil matters, for five of CARICOM’s 15 members. The others are eligible to accede. However, there is an ongoing debate in the region, including Jamaica, over the issue and the retention, by some states, of the UK-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) as their apex court.

criminal breach

The discord among the CCJ judges became public in early August when the Trinidad Express first reported on the matter. The paper extensively quoted from emails between the justices that accused Justice Anderson of authoritarian tendencies and panel-fixing to achieve specific judicial outcomes.

While the issue, based on the email threads, started as a dispute between Justice Anderson and Nigeria-born Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji over court attire, Justice Jamadar was among the first to broaden the criticism against the president to include his judicial conduct. With respect to one judges’ conference on the crafting of an important judgment, Justice Jamadar likened the president’s management of the session to “an attempt to influence the opinions of colleagues that differed from yours in an authoritative manner”.

Judicial disputes over competing perspectives and philosophies of law and jurisprudence are not uncommon in appellate and apex courts. Hardly ever, though, does the raw, emotive and personally wounding discourse reach the public in real time, except sometimes in dissenting opinions.

In the event, the leaks potentially represented a criminal breach of the CCJ’s information-technology systems and Trinidad and Tobago’s cybersecurity laws. Were they committed by one or more judges, they likely constituted a breach of the CCJ’s code of judicial conduct.

focused resolution

The matter was bound to be investigated. Neither Justice Anderson nor the RJLSC, which he chairs, has formally said whether, or how, this probe has proceeded.

But, according to a new email leak, an investigation has been under way, and Justice Jamadar has taken exception to how it has been conducted.

According to the Express’ reporting, in a September 4 email to Justice Anderson, the RJLSC, other judges and apparently some senior staff, Justice Jamadar complained about the line of questioning directed at his administrative officer by the president and the court’s information systems manager.

Justice Jamadar claimed that the potential legal consequences of the earlier leaks were raised and that questions were asked about his various appointments. The interviews were conducted without his knowledge, the judge said. He felt set upon.

“I feel targeted, harassed, and bullied (directly or indirectly) by their occurrence, and their proximity to the wider contexts that are related to the broader and unresolved impasse among the judges and the CCJ president,” he said.

The Gleaner makes no comment on Justice Jamadar’s personal concerns or the propriety of the internal investigation. However, it ought to concern all the justices that private, internal correspondence has reached the public domain. Any institution would want to know where it is porous.

The next outflow might not involve a matter with genuine public-interest bona fides, but something of value to private interests. Moreover, the issues at the CCJ require focused resolution, not further chipping away at its foundation.