| In the past few weeks on the news, we've been hearing a lot about the General Legal Council, mostly in reference to the attorney Arthur Saldivar, who we are told has more than a few complaints filed against him with that body.
If you don't know what the General Legal Council is, that's not surprising because that body, which should review complaints against attorney's and hand out discipline for it, has a conviction rate very close to zero% and is mostly nonfunctional.
Try to find out who's to blame for the woeful state of affairs, and you'd probably end up in court - because both the attorney general and the bar association blame each other. But when those big elephants fight, it's only the grass that gets trampled and, in this case, the grass is represented by those regular folks who pay lawyers money and don't get anything in return - not even a court appearance.
Today the attorney general told us about his plan to fix it:..
Hon. Wilfred "Sedi" Elrington, Attorney General
"I don't think it was functioning effectively at all and that's for different reasons. I got the impression they were very selective in who they wanted to go against and the dilatory in terms of how they proceeded depending on who they were dealing with. Very unsatisfactory state of affairs and I thought that it was necessary that an end be put to that. I want to emphasize the point that over the last 6 years I was not in the picture because I was more out of the country than in, so that the other persons who are responsible for carrying on the affairs of the general legal council ought to have done that. But that was not done in the manner on which it ought to have been done and to my mind it was doing more injustice than justice and It is for that reason that I had ordered that it be halted certainly while I am in country since I am responsible until we can in fact make more efficient, make it stronger, make it work in accordance with the law. I have now been in country for the entire month of August and so it is much more convenient now for us to convene on anything and I've given instructions for that to be done. So that's going to be done very shortly."
"I am happy to tell you that in fact we will be taking legislation to the national assembly as early as September to in fact with a view to strengthening the general legal council and in that process the role of the attorney general is going to be seriously reduced and the chief justice is going to take a much more prominent role."
The president of the bar EAMON COURTENAY is out of the country so we could not get his comments.
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