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Many in the bar see it as a threat - because it removes their monopoly on practicing membership in the legal profession. Today Attorney General Elrington told us the Bar needs a wake-up call:

Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Attorney General of Belize
"We are convinced that as it is presently constituted, the legal profession act is unconstitutional as it relates to the requirement that all members of the profession have to belong to the Bar Association. Under the constitution, we have freedom of association; we should not have to belong to the bar association. We should belong to the bar association if we want to. But presently, we are forced to belong to it and we're also forced to pay dues to it at the beginning of every year as a condition of our membership."

Jules Vasquez
"However, is this a UDP-PUP schism? So far as I know, whether it's right or wrong, the Bar is perceived as being a PUP based Bar. The Prime Minister said this in the House; that the PUP controls the Bar - whether or not that is a fact is another matter, but is that why this approach is being taken?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"In my case, certainly as the Attorney General, that is not the approach. The PUP, UDP situation does not affect me. What affects me is that, we are forced to belong to an organization that's supposed to represent the interest of attorneys at law. You are forced to pay dues, but the organization does little, if anything, to promote the interest of attorneys at law. I can say that since 1977- since I became an attorney in 1977, I've been paying dues every year while am in private practice. I can't show you what I've gotten from the dues. I don't drink whiskey; I don't drink rum. I don't drink beer so when they have their annual functions, I don't go and I don't participate in those things. The Bar does nothing else; it has never come out in favor of anything to enhance the standard and performance of the members of the Bar. I personally don't want to belong to the Bar Association, and I can tell you that I have stopped attending Bar Association meetings from about the 70's, or early 80's."

Jules Vasquez
"However you can't make legislation based on your own proclivities."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"The leadership of the Association - is limited to a few families. You check it; over the years, although now we have over 100 attorneys, it's the same few families like musical chairs who are elected as presidents you can't change that it seems."

Jules Vasquez
"Would the Prime Minister for example, A: known to be more traditional than you are - you are known to be contrary an untraditional, and B: he is from one of those families who you assort has rotational leadership of the bar association."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I can't speak for the Prime Minister but I can tell you that the Prime Minister is in agreement with the proposal that we amend the law so that it is consistent with our constitution. He is fully in support of the proposal, and so what this legislation is seeking to do, among other things, is to make it so that it becomes a discretionary thing as to whether or not a young attorney belongs to the Bar or not. If he chooses to belong to the Bar Association, he can join it and then pay the dues. If he doesn't want to belong to the Bar Association, he can refrain from becoming a member and don't pay the dues. I personally don't want to be a member of the Bar Association, and I don't want to pay dues to that organization because I get nothing for the money I pay to it."

Jules Vasquez
"However then, is this self-interest legislation, because you don't want to do it you craft legislation around that?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"This is legislation which will allow all attorneys to exercise their constitutional right to belong or not to belong."

Jules Vasquez
"It is an institution, whose monopoly on the legal practice in Belize servers a purpose in that it gets everybody - all the legal professionals - into one group for the advancement of the practice of law in Belize. When the Bar speaks, it speaks to all legal professions and it carries weight for example: when it spoke out against the ninth amendment."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I don't think it was very successful in that regard. They tried their best to derail the Government initiatives in a matter that was so important to the nation and to the people of Belize, getting back your natural resources. But the Bar, to my mind, on that occasion choose to side - take sides with their wealthy clients against the people of Belize; that was my perception."

Jules Vasquez
"Is that what really caused the split between your Government and the Bar?"

Hon. Wilfred Elirington
"No, I am telling you that in my case. I stop attending Bar Association meetings from the 70's or the 80's, because I thought that the Association was a waste of time. So -"

Jules Vasquez
"Yes, but you said; 3 or 4 years now you've been working on this ideation on this legislation."

Hon. Wilfred Vasquez
"I gave instructions for the bill to be brought when I got into Government, shortly after I got into government because it's something that worries me."

Jules Vasquez
"I get the impression that the Government will have its way."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"The Government has the power to pass the legislation, but don't you think that the Government should want to correct an unconstitutional situation? Isn't that the responsibility of Government?"

Jules Vasquez
"Will there be an exodus from the bar of the UDP members: The Pitts, The Elringtons?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I do not know how many of those names you called are at present attending Bar Association meeting; that's the thing. The Bar Association is not well supported. Lots of people are not happy with it; it is not functioning. It is functioning in name alone. The Bar Association needs to be shaken up if it wants to attract members; it needs to be reform. It needs to start working in the best interest of the members, from whom it has been collecting money all these years; you can't collect people's money and do nothing for them."

Under the new configuration, lawyers would not be compelled to be a member of any professional association.

Another aspect of the legislation says that the Attorney General would appoint the members of the General Legal Council - which is the disciplinary body for the legal profession. Elrington says though that is in the law, he would not support it:

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I will not support the AG appointing the members of the disciplinary committee."

Jules Vasquez
"You will not?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"No, it's not something that I would support. I think that - I think that if it's in the legislation, certainly when recommendation is made amend that, I would support that, because it's not a recommendation I would support. I think that it had got to be the General Legal Council - at present, because of the control that is exerted by certain families in the Bar Association at the present time, these same families control the General Legal Council. And to my mind, the General Legal Council has not been acting in consistence with the legal profession. I have had number of run-ins with them - when I say a number I had about 3 or 4 run-ins with them over the years. And I have had to point out to them that they're not acting in accordance with the law. The law stipulates how it should proceed."

Jules Vasquez
"Yes but, a matter is being pursued against you."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"The intention is to have an institution - especially to something like the General Legal Council - as sanitized as possible. It must be as objective as possible, as you can possibly get it."

Jules Vasquez
"So then you do wish that the members in composition - the power of that be taken away from the bar?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"The domination of it, yes; I think that I personally - and this was my suggestion. My last suggestion was I thought that the - I thought a suggestion in the bill that a judge should be made a member of the General Legal Council."

The President of the Bar Association, Eamon Courtenay says he will have a resPOnse after the bar meets on Monday. We understand Government intends to take the legislation to the House of Representative very soon.