Last night, we told you how Justice of Appeal Franz Parke resigned suddenly after only 7 weeks on the job. The Opposition and the social partners strongly objected to him taking the post on the premise that he was under qualified, but the Prime Minister went ahead with the appointment.
The Opposition Leader sued the Prime Minister and the Government of Belize, but yesterday, before the case could reach the court, Justice Parke stepped down.
The PUP have welcomed his decision to do so as the right thing, but when we caught up with Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte today, he said that it is regrettable that the judge decided to walk away. Here's what he had to say about it:
Mike Peyrefitte, Attorney General
"It's unfortunate whenever a judge feels the need to step down. Very disappointed. I personally don't feel like should have or needed to step down. But I can also see merit in what he did. Justice Parke felt that with some false allegations and wild allegations that were coming his way, that he didn't want to make a spectacle of the judiciary. Clearly, with some of the accusations that were coming, he would have had to be present and he would have had to subject himself to some cross examinations and his position is that in cross examination he would have easily dismissed the wild allegations."
"However, he didn't want to, like I said, make a spectacle of his appointment. He didn't want to be a distraction. He didn't want to give anybody any excuses for any judgements coming out of the court of appeal. He did an honorable thing in a way. He didn't want the good work of the court of appeal to be tainted by some allegation against him that he knew to be false. So with that he decided in the best interest of the judiciary and in the best interest of the administration of justice, that he would resign."
Reporter
"Trying to find a replacement for him, it must be an urgent task, is it not?"
Mike Peyrefitte, Attorney General
"Well he has picked a good time to resign in the sense that the court of appeal in is recess. I won't expect another sitting to occur until around March or so. So there is ample time to go look for one and there are enough out there that I don't think that there will be any difficulty in finding one. We are confident that no matter who they find, or who we find, that they will be objections to it by the Opposition and by Eamon Courtenay and by whatever. We know that they will object for the sake of objecting, but what it is, is what it is. I hope that they would demonstrate more mature behavior, but I doubt it."
Reporter
"Do you still maintain that Franz Parke was the man for the job?"
Mike Peyrefitte, Attorney General
"Indeed he was the man for the job."
According to the Attorney General, Justice Parke was appointed and duly sworn in as a temporary judge of the Belize Court of Appeal between 2014 and 2015. He pointed out that nobody objected then, and so, he says that he doesn't see why there are objections now.
In other news from the Judiciary we're told that attorney and Chairman of the Integrity Commission Marilyn Williams is about to take up an appointment to the Supreme Court as a judge. This may happen in January when he next session opens. Another chair of the Integrity Commission will have to be named.
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