THE BOTTOM LINE

I was one of the lawyers at the meeting of the Law Association who had argued that the Prime Minister should be advised to invoke s.137 to impeach the Chief Justice. My argument was (and still is) that a corner stone of our justice system is that a person should be presumed to be innocent unless and until he/she is found guilty after a trial before a jury of his/her peers. The problem that we as a country face is that there are some rather serious accusations being made against the Chief Justice. Are they true? I really don't (and didn't) know. However, (I argued) there is a great need for this issue to be put to rest one way or the other.  The post of Chief Justice is one of the most important posts in our Republic. The Chief Justice is the head of our judiciary and oversees its administration. The mere suspicion that the Chief Justice might be indulging in behavior that raises ugly suspicions cannot be good for the society. We must at all times have the confidence that whomsoever occupies that exalted office that his/her behavior is beyond reproach.


Now, whether you like it or not, very ugly suspicions have arisen about the behavior of the current holder of this office. And they simply won't go away. And to make it worse, The Chief Justice has refused to answer any questions relating to these very ugly suspicions ... a refusal which has only served the purpose of causing some people to wonder what he might be hiding. Put another way, these very ugly and most unnecessary suspicions which  are arising over his behavior  are causing people to lose confidence in the whole administration of justice. After all, they argue, doesn't  fish rot from the head? And if there is corruption at the top what does that say for the whole justice system?


In other words, one way or the other, the society needs answers. Now, what is the best way to get answers? The best way is obviously a trial; either the trial (i.e., the impeachment) of the Chief Justice finds him innocent of the charges or it finds him guilty. Either way the best interests of the society are served.  If he is guilty then he should be removed from office. That is clear! And if he is innocent then whatever suspected stains there might be will be washed away and he will be able to walk proudly in the sunshine without any shadows falling across his path. And that is also in the society's best interests.


The bottom line is that an impeachment trial is absolutely necessary to clear the air ... one way or the other.