ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Former attorney general Justin L. Simon, KC, is calling on the government to disclose the legal opinion that it received from United Kingdom-based King Counsels that the Governor General lacks the power to initiate a public inquiry in Antigua and Barbuda.
The main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) earlier this month delivered a petition to Governor General Rodney Williams last week, asking that he launch an inquiry into Antigua Airways, which is at the center of the controversy regarding the arrival of hundreds of West African nationals via chartered flights late last year.
In January, the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) halted Antigua Airways’ charter operations last because it did not comply with regulatory requirements. The airline, which the government said it had a 20 percent stake in, had been operating a charter between Antigua and Nigeria from November 1, 2022.
A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting noted that the government had “pursued and obtained two legal opinions from King Counsels…regarding the authority of the Governor General about establishing public inquiries.
“The legal experts concluded that the Governor General lacks the power to initiate a public inquiry. Consequently, the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda establishes a Commission of Inquiry.”
The statement said, “Through a Resolution, the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda grants the Governor General the necessary authority and holds a vote to authorize special funding for the inquiry.
“Any claims made by political operatives suggesting that the Governor General possesses the authority to initiate a Public Inquiry are completely untrue,” it added.
But in a letter to the media, Simon said he was asking Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin “and the Chief of Staff (Lionel Hurst) to disclose the legal opinion that they have received from the UK King’s Counsel, that we may assess and note where our reasoning is faulty, and acknowledge that we are wrong.
“The public, too, needs to know,” said Simon, who served twice as Attorney General between 2004-5 and 2010-14.
In his letter, Simon said lawyers sometimes differ; hence courts are asked to decide, “and we abide.”
He said having read the reports indicating that the two UK King Counsels had been told that the Governor General could not initiate a public inquiry, “I immediately sent a WhatsApp to the Hon Attorney General requesting that he disclose, in the public interest, the legal opinion that he received because two local King’s Counsel has earlier this week opined a contrary view – that the Governor-General can act independently and at his discretion in appointing a Commission of Inquiry.”
Simon said that it is “certainly is not sufficient for the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister to simply say that the (UK Legal) experts have concluded that the Governor-
General has no such power”.
He argued that he and another King Counsel “would like to be informed where we went wrong in our interpretation and assessment of the relevant law.
” This is a matter of general public interest, and we need to know why Mr. Hurst is baffled by my statements,” Simon said, adding that the Commissions of Inquiry Act provides in section 2 that “It shall be lawful for the Governor-General whenever he shall deem it advisable, to issue a commission appointing one or more commissioners, and authorizing such commissioners … to inquire into any matter in which an inquiry would, in the opinion of the Governor-General, be for the public welfare..”
Simon said that nowhere in that Act is the Prime Minister or any other Minister or the Cabinet mentioned, also adding that the Act also provides that “the Governor-General may direct what remuneration, if any, shall be paid to any commissioners acting under this Act….(and) such sums, so required to be paid, shall be paid by the Accountant-General out of the average cash balance in the Treasury.
” The English language seems pellucidly clear to me. I accept that the Governor-General shall hold office during His Majesty’s pleasure and shall be His Majesty’s representative in Antigua and Barbuda,” said Simon, adding that “I am and remain of the view that section 2 of The Commissions of Inquiry Act…gives the Governor-General the power to act in his deliberate discretion – and not on the advice of anyone”.
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