There were rumblings in the legal community today as Chief Justice Dr. Abdulai Conteh hastily convened a meeting with his brother Judges and the executive of the Bar Association.
According to our reports, he advised them that he is preparing to demit office when he reaches retirement age in August or shortly thereafter and is not taking any new cases in the interim. Additionally, we are told that the Chief Justice may not conclude hearing some of the 15 cases that he has already started. According to our sources, those will be passed on to other judges where, presumably, they will have to be re-heard from the start as may be required.
Apparently, the slightly unexpected development came about after a meeting between the Chief Justice and The Prime Minister yesterday in Belmopan. Our sources say there was concern about the backlog of cases. That's because the constitution permits a chief justice to stay on after he reaches the age of retirement as long as may be necessary to enable him to deliver judgment in proceedings that were commenced before he reached retirement age.
The feeling on the part of the executive seemed to be that the disposal of fifteen cases could keep him around for quite a while - which could affect government's timeline to identify a new Chief Justice, and that it seems was the issue which necessitated the meeting between the head of the executive and the judiciary.
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