Dear Editor,

WILL the real Hubert Minnis please stand Up!

At the funeral of the late Stephen Isaacs, Chief Justice of The Bahamas, the Prime Minister, the Hon Hubert Minnis made very interesting remarks concerning the Rule of Law, noting that it is needed in an orderly society, and the role of the Judiciary in preserving the Rule of Law.

It was also mentioned that the Judiciary is the third arm of the government designed to protect the country from anarchy.

However, it was seven months before the Prime Minister saw fit to appoint a substantive Chief Justice after the previous holder was made Presdient of the Court of Appeal, and the Chief Justice is head of the Judiciary which is the third arm of the government. Further, he has been recorded as saying that he is in no hurry to appoint a new Chief Justice.

Am I missing something here? I am sure that if something happened to a Minister of Government it would not take the Prime Minister seven months to appoint t another. Yet a Minister is only one of many members of the Executive, another branch of government , and the Chief Justice is the head of the Judiciary, the third arm of the government.

Situations of this kind show us that if we really want an independent Judiciary, the method of appointment of Judges and the Chief Justice in particular should be changed.

Jeanne Thompson
Nassau,
September 10, 2018