PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad– The Trinidad and Tobago Judiciary has sought to quell public disquiet which it said had been “occasioned by an unfortunate misinterpretation of its instruction to staff” while insisting that Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley had not issued a “directive” to the court that public servants return to work as usual on Monday.
In a statement, the Judiciary said it had taken note of a television media report on March 5 “in which a member of the bench purportedly called into question what she considered the Judiciary’s overriding of the directive of the Prime Minister that all public servants are expected to return to work as normal on March 7, 2022”.
An internal Judiciary e-mail of March 4 was also shown in the news report. The e-mail advises staff that their current work arrangements will continue until their supervisors inform them of changes to existing work arrangements.
“The Judiciary is therefore placed in a position where it needs to quell public disquiet which is occasioned by an unfortunate misinterpretation of its instruction to staff. It hastens to indicate that the Judiciary functions based on Practice Directions and Rules of Court, issued after in-depth consideration.
“The Prime Minister did not issue a directive to the Judiciary nor did the Judiciary at any time think that he did,” the statement said, adding “there is a clear separation between the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary which the heads of these arms of the State are aware of and observe and no directive was given to the latter.”
The Judiciary said that in the past, it has always considered the national environment and crafted its “Practice Directions and Rules of Court in such a way as to take into account whatever health or other measures are affected by the Executive while ensuring that the considerations which are unique to the Judiciary and its operations are addressed.
“The Judiciary is going through the same process on this occasion.”
Last Friday, Prime Minister Rowley announced in the Parliament the relaxation of several measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has killed 3 659 people and infected 130,000 since March 2020.
Rowley said that the public service would return to full service among the new measures as of Monday. All public servants will be expected to return to work as usual as the country transitions from strategies to handle COVID 19 as a pandemic to those required to see it as endemic.
The relaxation of the government’s COVID-19 policy will also allow for public gatherings of no more than 25 people who will, once in a public space and place where there is public interaction, have to continue to wear masks.
In the statement, the Judiciary said that Prime Minister Rowley as head of the Executive “is adequately required to do, how the Executive should function. The Judiciary will now determine how it must work. This will be conveyed in Rules of Court, Practice Directions, or both.
“It should be noted that any adjustments which the Judiciary’s administration would have wished to put in place could not have been being ready for March 7, 2022, and the staff was simply advised to continue to work as they have been doing and await further instructions.”
The requisite Practice Direction would have had to be prepared and in-depth administrative arrangements made.
“The issue was not only about staff going to courthouses but about the wide range of Judiciary stakeholders who would be affected by any decision taken. The operations of the Judiciary require appropriate planning.”
Two outspoken judges, Justices Carol Gobin and Frank Seepersad are quoted in the Newsday newspaper as indicating that they want the Judiciary to revisit its hybrid policy.
The paper reported that following Prime Minister Rowley’s announcement, there was a flurry of e-mail exchanges between Chief Justice Ivor Archie and the two judges. Their conversation was copied to all members of the Appeal Court, High Magistrates’ Court, and all Masters of Court.
“I have also been continuously seeking and receiving feedback from judges, judicial officers, staff and court users, so I am aware of the various views, which include those who prefer online hearings and remote access, those who are very happy with hybrid hearings and wish those to be the approach in the future and those who like yourself want to see no change from the old way of doing things.
“We are also in regular touch with judiciaries internationally, which are in the main preparing for hybrid situations going forward,” Justice Archie said in his communication to Gobin.
He acknowledged that some would like in-person hearings to resume and staff to be in the office each day.
However, he said, “this must be balanced against the fact that over the past six months, we have had 1,148 staff members on quarantine, and as of this week, we have 54 still in quarantine, 26 positives being monitored, and six deaths.
“In those circumstances, we cannot have confidence that introducing staff into shared spaces such as rather cramped judges’ bays would not exacerbate the situation.”
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