TCI government attempts to halt British Inquiry into corruption…?

In an article entitled “TCI Commission of Inquiry: no further comment”, which was published here a week ago today, I wrote the following:

Now that this process is underway, however, I feel obliged to follow my own advice to be patient and let justice take its course … with no further comment (until the Commission issues its report in 16 weeks).

Unfortunately, my assertion that this process is underway proved premature.  Because soon thereafter members of the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) filed a motion in the Supreme Court to prevent the Commission from getting on with its work.

Recall that on 10 July, the British Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), HE Richard Tauwhare, exercised his plenary powers to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to:

…inquire into whether there is information that corruption or other serious dishonesty in relation to past and present elected members of the House of Assembly (previously known as the Legislative Council) may have taken place in recent years.

Naturally, one would have thought that all members of the PNP, especially Premier Hon. Dr. Michael Misick, would have welcomed this Commission.  After all, it finally presents the opportunity for them to have a tribunal squash the allegations of corruption that members of the opposition People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) have been hurling at them for so many years.

Instead, on July 14, Premier Misick accused the British government of mounting:

…nothing more than a Fishing Expedition, to disguise the true plot, to attempt to make criminals out of our politicians, on both sides of the political divide, and destabilize our country.

Then, on the same day, two PNP members of Parliament filed the motion at issue.  (Me thinks they doth protest too much….)

Consequently, on 16 July, my colleagues and I at The TCI Journal commented on their motion in an article entitled “Attempted injunction little more than roadside noise”.  We assumed that this article would expose it as utterly without merit and thereby allay the concerns of all TCIslanders who truly want to see justice prevail; i.e., neither delayed nor denied.

Judging from the number of e-mails I have received over the past 48 hours, however, it seems we have failed to allay those concerns. 

Therefore, with all due respect and deference to Chief Justice Gordon Ward – who is scheduled to rule on this motion on Monday, I feel obliged to comment a little further.

They seek, among other things to restrain me from proceeding with the Commission of Inquiry. I shall take legal advice on the claim and will abide by any order of the Court if and when given.

[Head Commissioner Sir Robin Auld QC]

Alas, my fellow TClslanders, only consciousness of guilt could have compelled Premier Misick and the PNP to react so irrationally and attempt to restrain Sir Robin from proceeding.  They claim that they’re exercising their “constitutional rights to challenge the Terms of Reference of the Commission”.  But, frankly, they would have been better served to exercise their constitutional right against self-incrimination instead….

At any rate, I am confident that the Chief Justice will reject their motion, summarily.  And here’s why:

1. Nothing in the Commission of Inquiry Ordinance prohibits the Governor from setting out the terms of reference as he has; and  
2. The Governor enjoys “complete discretion” with respect to appointing a Commission – as the FCO’s own legal counsel, Susan Dickson, affirmed recently in Parliamentary testimony.  Moreover, this discretion extends to specifying its terms of reference – as delineated in sections two and three of the Ordinance.

For the record, citing the legal advice they got, the MPs filed their motion based on the following claim:

What the Terms of Reference should have done is to authorize the Commission to enquire into these allegations.  Instead, the Commission is authorized to look for information on elected members.

I fear, however, that this patently flawed argument will only cause the Chief Justice to roll his eyes in dismay, if not in disgust.  After all, any first-year law student could have advised them that the Commission cannot inquire into these allegations (which necessarily do not refer to any specific government official) without gathering information on the activities of all elected members whenever the evidence implicates them. 

Actually, as a member of the TCI Bar, I am embarrassed by the frivolous and uninformed nature of this motion.

Yet I believe Sir Robin was wise to acknowledge it.  Because this demonstrates his willingness to accord all subjects of this Commission of Inquiry every conceivable right of due process that criminal defendants are entitled to under our Constitution. 

Furthermore, I am encouraged that he made it clear he will not be deterred by the PNP’s third-rate efforts to hinder or undermine his investigation.

Accordingly, I urge Premier Misick and his party to let justice take its course – wherever and to whomever it may lead – without any further political distractions.

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TCI Commission of Inquiry: no further comment

* This article is also being published today by the TCI Journal and Caribbean Net News – the most widely read newspaper in the Caribbean.