AG blames “mix up” for faulty commencement order for judicial review law

Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams SC yesterday blamed a “mix up” at his office for the wrong date being printed on the initial commencement order he issued for the activation of the Judicial Review Act (JRA).

“What happened really is that the law officer who was dealing with the matter went on leave and the other one that was left to deal with it subsequently went on maternity leave. So there was a little mix up….There was an interim stay granted when the applicant [Anil] Nandlall gave an undertaking and that was not brought to the attention of myself or the Chief Parliamentary Counsel,” Williams told a press conference yesterday.

Chief Justice (CJ) Roxane George SC had issued an order in May, compelling the AG to bring the Act into force by July 31st. Williams appealed the decision and also filed an application to stay the order. His bid for the stay was, however, dismissed by Appellate Judge Rafiq Khan.