By now, you've heard all about the Legal Profession amendment Bill which seeks to change up the constitution of the General Legal Council and make it so that lawyers don't have to join the Bar Association. Of course, the Bar Association is mightily resisting this. Last night you heard the bar president Eamon Courtenay challenge the Attorney General Wilfred Elrington - saying that the bill was scandalous.
And former Bar President Andrew Marshalleck added that compulsory membership in the Bar Association does not violate the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association. That's the Bar Association's position taken from a legal opinion set out by two prominent attorneys, one linked to the PUP, the other to the UDP.
In June of 2013, the Prime Minister's law partner Rodwell Williams and former PUP Attorney General Godfrey Smith wrote a joint opinion and they concluded that compulsory membership in the Bar does not violate the constitution's freedom of association because the idea behind such membership is to protect the public against unethical behavior by attorneys. Thus, they argue, by virtue of that public responsibility, the Bar is not a private membership group like the Citrus Growers Association - which compulsory membership was struck down in court. Needless to say, the current Prime Minister and the Attorney General disagree fundamentally - and the matter could end up in court, those no decision has been made on that.
For the time being public consultations on the legislation resume next Tuesday by the constitution and foreign affairs committee after the first meeting was postponed.
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