On Friday September 5th, Government introduced the Legal Profession Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives. As we've told you this bill makes it so that a lawyer no longer has to be a member of, or pay fees to the Bar Association. It also appoints the Chief Justice as Chairman of the General Legal Council, taking the place of the Attorney General.
Those goals seem simple enough – but the legislation, perhaps predictably, has run afoul of the Bar Association. The Association has compiled and submitted its many complaints about the Bill to the House Constitution and Foreign Affairs committee which was supposed to meet yesterday, but didn't. Today we did get to speak to the President the Bar about it. He stressed that the views he was expressing were his own and not necessarily those of the Bar Association:…
Eamon Courtneay, President of Bar Association
"Speaking for myself, the amendment bill is in the house that was stabled by the government is a scandalous piece of legislation. I think the people of
Belize should ask themselves one question when they look at that bill, how has the public benefit from these proposed amendments? There are two
striking things in that piece of legislation. First of all, the amendment proposes to remove from the law the provision that allows the chief justice,
on the recommendation of the general legal council to discipline attorneys. I repeat, they propose to remove from the law the power to discipline
attorneys. Secondly, the bill proposes to change the composition of the general legal council and it seems to me that the attorney general will now
have himself, plus two additional attorneys chosen by him, plus he is going to appoint two people on the recommendation of the bar association of
Belize. I am aware of other recommendations that have been made by other parties for appointment of other committees and commissions and this
government has refused. There is nothing in the legislation that says the attorney general must accept the two nominees of the bar association. I can
only assume that is deliberate, it seems to me that once again we're going to have a general legal council designed, fabricated and manufactured in the
image of the current attorney general. It is regrettable, it is sad and I think it is a backward step when it comes to disciplining of attorneys in
this country. I think the attorney general and the government of Belize ought to be shame of themselves for presenting such a piece of legislation to
this country."
7news has obtained the comments of the Bar Association, which notes that once the Bill is passed, compulsory membership of the Association will no longer be necessary for a person to practice law in Belize.
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