WHAT exactly did the Integrity Commission write to the Chief Justice about exempting judges from filing declarations of assets?

What did the Chief Justice then do?

Has the Commission exempted anyone else? What were the Commission’s grounds for granting exemptions? Where did it get the authority to do it?

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI), we need answers to these questions if we are to know what to make of the calls for the Commissioners to resign.

The credibility of the Commission is at stake.

In the current High Court matter of the Integrity Commission versus the Attorney General, the presiding judge, Madame Justice Judith Jones, said in a ruling on December 19 last that “by way of a letter from the Chairman of the Integrity Commission to the Chief Justice and circulated to all judges, judges were advised that as a result of advice given it, a decision had been taken by the Commission that it would not require judges to file declarations under the (Integrity in Public Life) Act”.

Chief Justice
SAT SHARMA

Integrity
Commission
Chairman
GORDON DEANE

This statement has been widely taken to mean that the Commission has exempted judges from submitting to it the declarations of their income, assets, etc. that the law stipulates they do.

Since the Commission has no power or authority to exempt anyone from the provisions of the relevant (or any) legislation, the decision to which Justice Jones referred would therefore appear to be illegal.

On this basis, several calls have been made for the members of the Commission to resign.

TTTI believes that a number of pieces of information must be made public to allow proper decisions on this matter to be made.

First, we need to see the text of the letter from the Integrity Commission Chairman to the Chief Justice, the date on which it was written (and the date or dates, if different, it was sent to and received by the Chief Justice), the terms in which it was couched, the person(s) or organisation on whose behalf it was signed, the signature it bears, etc.

We need also to see the advice on which the Commission acted.

Second, we need to know what action the Chief Justice took on receiving the letter from the Chairman of the Integrity Commission.

Third, we need to know if the Commission has exempted any other individuals or bodies from filing declarations under the Act and, if so, who, which and when.

Fourth, we need to know the factors persuading the Commission to grant exemptions, and why the Commission would have considered itself authorised under the law so to do.

TTTI requests that this information be provided urgently and in the name of transparency.