Rights Bahamas backs QCs Smith and Munroe calls for ministers to tone down rhetoric against judges
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Human Rights Bahamas (HRB) yesterday expressed dismay over the “sharp increase” in public criticism and attacks on Supreme Court rulings by members of the executive branch of government.
It follows public statements from Attorney General Carl Bethel and Public Works minister Desmond Bannister over the recent Supreme Court ruling to extend its shantytown injunction to the entirety of Abaco.
This decision prevents the government from destroying shantytown communities without bringing evidence of a breach of the law to the court first.
Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson handed down her ruling yesterday morning.
“In our view, this very disturbing trend poses a serious threat to judicial independence and the rule of law in The Bahamas,” the HRB statement read.
“We condemn the growing tendency of Cabinet Ministers to lash out against judges, in hostile and inflammatory tones, whenever they do not like the contents of a ruling. The Bahamas is a parliamentary democracy where freedom of speech is protected. However, Ministers must remember that they are not ordinary citizens and that their public statements are extremely influential with political supporters and the public at large. It is no mistake that the increasingly aggressive tone of Ministers has been accompanied by a rise in open hostility and threatening language against judges on social media.”
Outside Cabinet on Tuesday, Bannister referred to the court’s decision as “nonsense” and “not worth the paper it is written on”.
HRB noted the publication of his comments “were accompanied by a host of online attacks accusing the judge of political bias and questioning her patriotism and nationality, demanding to see her birth certificate, etc.”
The statement continued: “HRB agrees with Legal Director Frederick Smith, QC, and also with Wayne Munroe, QC, who respectively referred to Bannister’s comments as “scandalous” and “inappropriate”. We call upon elected officials to tone down the anti-judiciary rhetoric – which if continued, could have the effect of intimidating judges and ultimately threatening the rule of law in The Bahamas.
“The Judiciary in The Bahamas is already forced to operate under duress. Judges do not have proper security of tenure and can be forced into retirement or else have their appointment extended, based on the government’s whim. If they are non-citizens, judges are often denied any form of permanent immigration status, with their families and personal lives left in limbo as a result.
“Meanwhile, the government routinely ignores rulings of the court, for example, the 2015 decision that should have seen the Blackbeard’s Cay unregulated development shut down, but which was never enforced.”
The statement read: “In the face of these formidable challenges, the Judiciary has nevertheless maintained courageous independence from the Executive Branch, never shying away from correcting elected officials when they overstep the boundaries of the law. This is the central role and most sacred function of the courts: to serve as a check on unbridled power and ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
“In many dictatorships and failed states around the world, the judiciary has been effectively undermined by strong-arm tactics, threats and intimidation, to the extreme detriment of civil society and the public at large. The Bahamas does not want to go there. We urge the government to back off, cease and desist from denigrating the decisions of judges, and let justice take its course in accordance with the Constitution.
HRB added: “There are few things so important to the preservation of democratic institutions as an independent judiciary. Almost always, where democracy breaks down, it is because those who hold political power overstep their official roles and begin to act outside of the law. Our judges are the last line of defence against such tyranny. All right-thinking Bahamians who love the rule of law should stand behind the judiciary, support their independence and condemn government aggression against judges.”
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