Judges to get an out from accountability law

If the Senate approves the new Integrity in Public Life Act, judges in the High Court and Appeal Court will be the only high-ranking public officers to get an exemption from its provisions, notably the declaration of assets, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has acknowledged.

As she led the debate in the House of Assembly on the legislation, she insisted that it was her desire to have all members of the bench submit declarations of assets.

But under the legislation, magistrates must comply with the declaration provision, along with two constitutionally protected officers, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Auditor General.

The Prime Minister told the House: “There was a great deal of debate as to whether we should include judges in this bill.

“I am conscious that while initially, Sir David [Simmons] agreed that he saw no reason why they should be exempted in the legislation, I am told that subsequent deliberations of the Committee and consultation with him and others have suggested that we will not include judges in this bill.

“But I, at a very personal level, must tell you that while I am to accept and therefore usher in this bill as is, I feel very strongly that in our country, there cannot be persons excluded from public life because of the fact that they sit on the Bench. And therefore, I have asked the Attorney General to ensure that there is a special bill dedicated to judicial officers at the very high level such that we can move forward.

“I accept the concerns. I accept that you cannot impose it on persons who are already on the Bench, although I would like to think that they would want to volunteer their declaration of assets recognising that the country that they have the honour of serving is one that has this particular set of characteristics and that fairness and accountability and transparency are those things that we want to be able to do.”

Saying there are times when “fairness and accountability hurt”, she said that in the long-run what might appear to hurt will actually be of benefit to the country as it will present a platform for trust.

“I accept and I do not want to delay the passage of this bill anymore because the other persons to whom this bill applies in the schedule remain clear,” she said.

Lawmakers were told that some senior officers in 58 state agencies are to be expected to comply with the legislation.