The Bahamas judiciary lacks the compelling accountability in the appointment of judges, according to attorney Raynard Rigby.
Mr. Rigby, who was a guest speaker at a luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of South East Nassau Wednesday, expressed concerns regarding the accountability of these appointments.
"There is no self-portrait. And there can be no self-portrait as long as the judiciary and politicians allow for the appointment of judges under a disguise of utter secrecy," he said.
"There still exists today occasions when lawyers and Bahamians have to resort to a newspaper to have notice of an appointment of a judge. It was wrong then and it remains wrong today."
There is no evidence, not even a vanishable dust, that can decry the existence in these islands of a judiciary that houses its very own institutional identity."
According to Mr. Rigby, there is very little room for doubt that the system for the appointment of Chief Justice and other Justices is less than desirable.
Mr. Rigby said that it is true that the system of elevation to the office of Chief Justice potentially detracts from the ability of judges to be legalistic in their approach to judicial duties.
"This too will go to erode the integrity and impartiality of their judicial functions and the administration of justice, generally," he said.
The attorney pointed out that the attempts by politicians to Bahmianize the judiciary by affording those non-Bahamians permanent residency status and citizenship, is but a regression of the value of the constitutional supremacy of judicial independence.
"The process by which we in this nation appoint judges will, and has already in many respects, led to judicial independence being tied to political bias," he said. "In some regards, judges have come to see themselves as wards of political directorate."
Mr. Rigby called on the government to be wise and engage the public in a vitally important discussion to consider the process for the appointment of judges.
"To guarantee a level of trust that those of us who are subjected to the tyranny of judges can find comfort, an open and fully participatory process is but an essential step in the right direction," Mr. Rigby said.
By Yvette Rolle-Major , The Bahama Journal
