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Date: | Tue, 26 Feb 2002 12:04:31 EST |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
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I guess his honorary Mansa just appoints chief justices without consulting
either the parliament or rest of judiciary.
Can someone help me out with what the constitution says about this? If the
appointment is unconstitutional why didn't concerned NAMs discuss it in
parliament?
IMO - these foreigners are really suspect
Chief Justice’s appointment “unconstitutional” Lawyers disagree with Itam’s
appointment Bar called to take action
The appointment of Justice Okoi Itam as Chief Justice has not gone down well
with some members of The Gambia Bar Association who described it as wrong and
unconstitutional. The disapproving members of the bar argued that Itam was
appointed as Chief Justice by the president without giving due respect and
consideration to what they called unambiguous constitutional stipulations,
which call for the appointment of the most senior judge under the
circumstances of a vacancy. One lawyer told The Independent that Gambian
lawyers should take issue with the matter and challenge it on the grounds of
its lack of constitutional appeal.
She believes that to keep mum over the issue would be one of the greatest
disservice against the time-honoured cause of the judiciary, which must be
seen to respect constitutional declarations. According to her Justice Itam’s
appointment as Acting chief justice of the country was indefensible. She
quoted Section 140 of the constitution, which deals with vacancy in office of
Chief Justice. “In the event of there being a vacancy in the office of the
Chief Justice, or if he or she is, for any reason unable to perform the
function of his or her office, the president may appoint the most senior
judge of the Supreme Court to act in that office” she quoted the section as
stating.
The lawyer who said Itam’s appointment signifies an undesirable precedence
for breaking norms set out by the constitution, further argued that even if
the president had not appointed the most senior judge of the Supreme Court,
his appointee should have come from within the Supreme Court instead of the
High Court, the lowest court in the higher courts of the country, where
Justice Itam belongs. She also suggested that in view of the strength of
these hurdles against his appointment, Justice Itam would have been better
off rejecting the offer to act as Chief Justice.
According to another lawyer, “Itam’s appointment is very irregular, which
makes it feasible to challenge it in the Supreme Court. It is just a matter
of interpretation of the constitution,” he posited. Other lawyers of the bar
also did not hide their disapproval of Justice Itam’s appointment as acting
Chief Justice. They called on the Bar to take action against what they called
the naked violation of the constitution, “which is explicit about the
issue”. Efforts to speak to Justice Itam and the Judicial Secretary Reuben
Phillot were futile. Acting Chief Justice Itam who has not been sworn in has
no power to preside over any case under the circumstances. The appointment of
Itam, was reportedly hastily made last week.
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