Est.2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

Banner promoting anonymous crime reporting with a phone and contact number 1 800 TIPS (8477), featuring the Crime Stoppers logo and a QR code for submitting tips.

Non Membership in the Barbados Bar Association Does Not Preclude a Lawyer’s Right to Practice Law

← Back

Your message to the BLOGMASTER was sent

CONTACT THE BLOGMASTER ONLY

Marston Gibson, Chief Justice (l) Andrew Pilgrim, President of Barbados Bar Association
Marston Gibson, Chief Justice (l) Andrew Pilgrim, President of Barbados Bar Association

BU has been provided with a copy of the letter dated April 4, 2013 by which the Chief Justice finally advised the new Queens Counsel that he had received the Letters Patent that the GG had executed and sent to the CJ some weeks previously, instructing that they be delivered. The GG had also officially informed the new Queens Counsel himself of their appointment, from which time they had the right to put the letters QC after their names. Do not expect Chief Justice Gibson to offer an explanation for the delay.

BU has also been provided with a legal opinion on the matter of mandatory membership of the Barbados Bar Association, on which it has been argued, in essence, that there is a requirement that attorneys who are certified to practice law in Barbados must also be members of the Barbados Bar Association. BU’s legal opinion states that, as such an Act breaches the Constitution, it is a nullity ab initio, as indeed is any law which breaches the Constitution. Otherwise, the Constitution, which requires a two third majority of the House to change it, would be held hostage to the much lower standard of a simple act of parliament, which requires merely a majority. This would compromise the rights of Bajans and infringe their liberties. Pursued, it could also potentially lead away from democracy to dictatorship.

Thus, the list produced recently by the Bar Association of those counsel who have not paid their membership fees, is not relevant to right to practice law. As long as those attorneys have certification (and a complete list is available from the Official Gazette updated yearly) those attorneys have the right to practice that cannot be gainsaid by the Bar Association.

The Bar Association list has been generally interpreted and presented in the Fourth Estate and the blogs as being a denial of rights to practice by those attorneys and BU posts this clarification. The suggestion or implication that these attorneys, provided they have current practice certificates, are not eligible to practice law is potentially legally actionable.

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

105 responses to “Non Membership in the Barbados Bar Association Does Not Preclude a Lawyer’s Right to Practice Law”

  1. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    All of a sudden there is a problem with a dictatorship … Stupse. Man the kind of decisions that all would love to have made would not materialize in a democracy. You know that … He knows that … She knows that … wah ever’body know da’ … and still yah crying down dictators? ha ha ha

  2. jeff Cumberbatch Avatar
    jeff Cumberbatch

    Who determines in Barbados that a law is unconstitutional? According to the accepted constitutional theory, it is certainly not a legal opinion -see section 24of the Constitution. Until then, unconstitutionality is merely a point of view.

  3. Mark Fenty Avatar
    Mark Fenty

    @ Jeff
    You have made an interesting observation, because I thought in much same light as I read the article. My thoughts led me to the fact in the United States of America for example, when federal, state, or municipal law comes in to conflict with the constitution, the Supreme Court makes the determination.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @Jeff

    Are you saying that the legal eagles whose names are on the listed and circulated by the Bar Association posted on BU have opened themselves to have matters they have been party to challenged and possibly set aside?

  5. jeff Cumberbatch Avatar
    jeff Cumberbatch

    I am saying nothing of the kind, David. I am merely saying that the opinion given to BU that the law mandating membership of the Bar is unconstitutional and hence may be safely ignored is reckless advice in the absence of judicial determination of the point. If it is not unconstitutional, then what, is the next question. None of the fundamental rights is absolute.

  6. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    David

    In light of what Jeff Cumberbatch has posted above, I hope that you and Amused at least now acknowledge the point that I was making. Lawyers cannot decide that an act is unconstitutional and choose to ignore it. They would have to challenge the law in court and let that determination be made by a judge, not a legal opinion. They must follow the law until such time as it is struck down by the court as unconstitutional. Don’t let whoever it is that provided the information in this post to fool you.

    The Legal Profession Act is a 1972 act of Parliament and the lawyers would argue that it infringes the Constitution. However, it merely replaced the provisions for compulsory membership for barristers and solicitors that existed prior to 1966 and as such, the compulsory membership of the Bar Association would have been saved by section 26 of the Constitution as interpreted by the court in the Gladwin King case (8% pay cut case in 1991).

    The Legal Profession Act is clear, if you don’t pay your bar dues and continue to practice law, you would be committing a CRIMINAL offence. Mind you, I am not giving a legal opinion which would also put me in conflict with the act: I am merely carrying out an exercise in English Comprehension.

  7. David Avatar
    David

    @jeff

    The lawyers who have made the decision to be non members in the Bar Association have done so fully appreciative of the ramifications of their decision. They are lawyers after all! Additionally their decision has been known to the Bar and legal fraternity one must assume. Where do we go from here jeff?

  8. David Avatar
    David

    @Caswell

    BU has posted another view to debate an issue which needs debating. The fact that this matter has been allowed to continue through the years when there is the matter of fact view that it is an illegal act boggles the mind.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    And Caswell and Jeff

    This matter straddles CJs, AGs and Bar presidents.

  10. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    Ef de men knowingly brek the law and there ain’ na response from law enforcement, the men must know wah dey doing … HA HA HA. Na body touching dem… huh? And Amused did around much longer than Jeff so big mout’ Jeff better show some respect … HA HA HA

  11. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS

    The BAR is a place to get drunk .The BAR maybe good , if they did the work of letting others “THE PEOPLE” know who the good lawyers are. Instead of covering the CROOKS lawyers, Other Lawyers that do well would then shine and get more work as the BAD BAR members would get less or no work for their BAD “DEEDs”
    As the BAR seem to be the COURT for lawyers to hide their wrongs when the PEOPLE go there to take action and to be heard their case against them to be heard , The case is over before it even start.
    The PEOPLE have no where to go and the same Lawyers Make jokes like Richard Byer, and Ralph Thorne and lets not for get C.Lindsay Bolden,Ernest Jackman.and a lot of others,
    The BAR do not make it clear who is who and the fees is more of a payoff.
    Go to the other BAR and have a DRINK .
    Lets now find a list of who was taken to the BAR and see how long the cases took to be heard and the out come .
    No F.O.I there nor I.L either.LAW nor ACT.
    Let the BAR take the lawyers to court for fees and the case will take 20 years or more lolol.There seem to be GOOD lawyers and BAD lawyers on that list of non payment ,
    Sally Commissiong? , David Commissiong?, ,Ernest Jackman??? in the same law house.3 on the list.. David in the news working .
    Until the BAR clean it self up and let the People know their Mission Statement and stick to it , I would not give the BAR fees to be with a group of other lawless lawyers
    We have our own list and all 7 of the last is on it , THINK.
    Does GOOD Standing only means the BAR fees are PAID?

  12. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    David

    Your question is addressed to Jeff but I will be forward and answer. Once the court is aware of the situation, the judge or magistrate should refuse to hear the lawyer. Also, having committed a criminal offence, they should be tried. But in Barbados, there is one law for the Medes and another for the Persians.

  13. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    So if these lawyers feel that this law is a mock law and can be ignored, what is to stop other professions from deciding that their registration fees are non binding and refusing to pay…?
    What is to stop land owners from refusing to pay land tax?

    …come to think of it, why should a home owner be paying taxes on land that he brought, paid for and lives on…? That must be against the constitution somewhere 🙂

    Point is, is it not SOMEONE’S job to challenge these lawbreakers? Or can anyone just do as they like…?

    ….but then we would need at least one intelligent person in the role of AJ, CJ or DPP….

  14. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @David. Jeff, whom I respect, knows full well that for some time now the issue of mandatory membership of the Bar Association and also the question of VAT payable on Bar Association dues has been questioned.

    The first on the basis of the unconstitutionality of the Act, thereby rendering the Act itself a nullity ab initio. In other words, the Act to which Casewell is so persistent in referring (as if it were the Holy Writ) is null and void because it breaches the Constitution. Casewell, it is S**TE!

    The next one is the matter of VAT. It is well settled in law that VAT is not payable on membership dues to statutory organisations, no matter the statute is a nullity ab initio. Yet the Bar Association persists in insisting on the payment of VAT.

    The Bar Association has been repeatedly warned by presidents past and present that it must refer these matters to the courts, yet it has failed to do so. The position of counsel who have opted out is very clear. “If you try to prevent me from practicing law, I will sue you and I will win and it will cost you nuff money.”

    Last year the Registrar failed to include on the list of licensed legal practitioners certain names in the official list in the Official Gazette. These names comprised, so far as I can see, the same list of names of counsel who had opted NOT to be members of the Bar Association, but were, nonetheless, holders of practice certificates. Certain of those names commenced the CPR protocols against the Registrar. The Official Gazette swiftly republished a corrected list – AND the Registrar wrote personally to each offended counsel with her apologies.

    Now, I have seen Jeff’s comment which, while completely correct only so far as it goes, like most academic arguments, signally fails to provide an opinion on whether Casewell’s dearly beloved Act is a nullity – or not. In other words, it concentrates on the academic and NOT the practical application. It suggests that an action could be brought against the abstaining counsel (which is true) BUT it does not suggest what chances of success such an action has (which, in my view, is 0%). So, I would advise the Bar Association not to even bother to go there. What, Jeff, would YOU advised them?

    Recently, I was astonished and delighted to learn that in Ontario (I have no knowledge of the rest of Canada) counsel are obliged to write opinion letters (and obtain signed receipts for same) to clients in which they provide an estimate for the success of any action. This also, I am delighted to learn, forms a part of their legal education at law school. Thus the client has the chance, if plaintiff, to determine whether or not it is prudent to bring the action. If defendant, the client can determine whether to give instructions to try to settle the matter out of court or some such other measure that will minimise all losses. This is a measure that Barbados counsel would do well to adopt and which, in my estimation, law schools (and I do not single out Cave Hill alone) are most delinquent and irresponsible in not teaching.

    So, Jeff, as asked before, applying the Ontario principal of providing an estimate of success (as I have done) what would be your professional opinion of the chances of success if the Bar Association came to you to act for it in this matter? And I don’t mean at first instance (as one has to factor in “judges” like Elnet Kentish) – I mean in the final appeal. Before the CCJ?

    By the reaction of the Registrar and the courts, it is not by any means a stretch to assume that they view the Act as a nullity and are declining to involve themselves in what would certainly be an extremely costly (in terms of damages) action.

    Maybe it is high time that the Bar Association referred the matter to the courts, instead of publishing lists that may very well occasion damage to the people on that list and thus be deemed to be defamatory and which can be picked on and misinterpreted by the Nation and bush lawyers like Casewell who apparently has not heard of “nullity ab initio” and whose preceptor has clearly either not taken the time to educate him…..or has never heard of it himself.

  15. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    Amused

    You are either dishonest or going senile. Nothing else accounts for what you have written.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    @Caswell

    The question posed by BU remains;

    This issue is known to AGs, CJs, Bar presidents and the like. Why has it been allowed to go?

  17. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    At least we are now fully aware why most lawyers act like the BAR and the LAW are just asses.

  18. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Casewell. If I am, as you suggest, senile, then I am the most excellent company. Beverley, Sleepy, Maurice, Edmund, Vernon, Hal et al. Also, the presidents (past and present) of the Bar Association. What company are you keeping these days? Same old?

  19. David Avatar
    David

    @Amused

    BU’s main point of concern is – Why should this matter be allowed to continue? Ignored by those responsible for oversight and brazen disobedience by officers of our courts. Who is right, who is wrong?

  20. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    David………………..it might be decades too late to do anything, may as well live with it, it has already benefited so many attorneys mostly to the detriment of clients. Who will want to change things when there are 22 lawyers now presenting themselves as leaders of the country or leaders in waiting.

  21. DR. THE HONOURABLE Avatar
    DR. THE HONOURABLE

    Bare Assholes in Barbados.
    So many degrees and cant solve simple problems
    Go Back to the Cane Fields you black people who cant seem to manage your affairs.

    Arise white people ! Your commonsense and business acumen is needed because the Indians may have some money but are too parasitic and the blacks are too tribalistic , selfish and eat their own kind.(Cannibals ? social Cannibals)

    Disclaimer : This is not a racially emotive comment
    Life is simple; Idiots complicate it

  22. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    The paying of land tax has to be challenged in court. Why has no one stepped forward …?

  23. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Dr. The Honourable………………….it is complicated, white don’t know what to do either, no one to enslave, very little or nothing left to ‘conquer’…………up the creek, no boat no paddle. We have entered a different dimension…………..the laws have now imprisoned the designers…………don’t know what else to tell you.

  24. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    When these legal ppl put on gloves dey is throw in some good Latin … mek the argument sound impressive … HA HA HA. What it all boils down to is who got the balls to pelt the first rock … and since none ah dah ain’ happening it will be business as usual. Maybe a member of the public could seek advice from one of the people who were excluded from the list and then turn around and drop their ass in court for acting illegally. I see a business opportunity here. But who in the fraternity would represent me? HA HA HA. I sticking wid my new found friend Amused … Lard knows that ya need friends in these trying times …

  25. BAFBFP Avatar
    BAFBFP

    DR. THE HONOURABLE

    Like you good at complicating things …. 🙂

  26. pieceuhderockyeahright!,, Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright!,,

    @ Amused

    As with others who have floated excellent ideas and for whom it appears their real identity beyond these mek up name is known I hasten to advise you not to answer your front door to any visitors after 7 pm!!

    “counsel are obliged to write opinion letters (and obtain signed receipts for same) to clients in which they provide an estimate for the success of any action”

    This is a revolutionary, careless and bullet to the head statement from a man who is obviously preaching sedition and treason.

    Besides the fact that it would require many of the brotherhood of silk to put in writing what they fancify in their heads and then seduce unwitting clients to pay for, it would open them to scrutiny by others who when required to give a second opinion could see their ineptitude in black and white

    The list of those who will now be seeking to bump you off has now skyrocketed from those 10-11 conscientious objectors to bar association fees and now includes 90% of all of the lawyers with certificate to practice in Barbados

    I do hope you have a gun or a good relationship with the Commissioner of Police because lawyers dont have to search hard for contract killers like average folk or pensioners like me they delegate a hit to their clients who are criminals.

    I did not call the name of the president of the bar association nor the coke using buddies of QC. *****

    Live long and prosper Amused since you have induced the half life of mercury into your life expectancy by set ranging these fellows

  27. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Piece………………..please reiterate to them that this is a very dangerous and life threatening game, where the lawyers are the criminals and vice versa.

  28. pieceuhderockyeahright!,, Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright!,,

    By enraging these fellows

  29. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS

    The lawyers feel that the laws dont apply to them , But yet forced upon the people. The head of the lawyers is the Queen , Let the Queen know . If she does nothing then she is a part of the Problem.Long Live the King. QCs out KCs in ,

  30. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Plantation…………….I don’t think you are getting it……………this thing did not start this century

  31. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @David | April 11, 2013 at 8:01 AM | Two presidents of the Bar Association to my certain knowledge have advised the Bar that they are up the proverbial gum tree and ought to seek to clarify and correct these issues. But they have been ignored. One of them advised the Bar Association that the most dangerous thing they could do would be to go up against these dissenters. Rather, they should obtain a ruling from the courts clarifying the matters and they ought to be considering ways forward. These presidents of the Bar have been, it would certainly seem, ignored.

    Now, the Bar Association has produced a list of dissenters and it may well be that some (or none) of those have omitted to pay their certification (as opposed to Bar) fees. This can be ascertained simply by comparing the updated Bar Association list with that submitted by the Registrar to (and published by) the Official Gazette at the beginning of the year. The list in the Official Gazette is the ONLY list upon which courts are entitled to rely.

    What the Bar Association has done by publishing a list that should, at best, be treated as a confidential in-house and, at worst, is totally irrelevant and, indeed, misleading is to allow and, indeed, encourage bush lawyers (thank you for that Islandgal) like Casewell to preach that: “Once the court is aware of the situation, the judge or magistrate should refuse to hear the lawyer. Also, having committed a criminal offence, they should be tried.”

    Casewell has now added to his arrant stupidity by accusing counsel that he himself has named of committing criminal acts. And he can be thankful that the general consensus of opinion among my fellow sufferers in senility is that, “No one in Caribbean, not just Barbados, done take Casewell seriously.”

    @pieceuhderockyeahright!,, | April 11, 2013 at 9:05 AM | I am old and I have never been too good at keeping my mouth shut and, because of the lack of effective governance of the RBPF by the CoP, I always lock my door and I do have a gun and I am a very good shot, senile though I am thought to be. And like all old people, I am a very light sleeper. In any case, in relation to the Police I am forced to follow Juvenal and ask, “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

    Anyway, it is not a revolutionary idea at all to know what you are paying for. If you go to a doctor he/she provides you with a DIAGNOSIS and may recommend some other form of treatment, or not as the case may be. If you say to that doctor that you would like to take a second opinion, he/she will willingly agree, because they have no objection, in the interests of your health, to having another medical professional check their diagnosis. Similarly, unless you are an idiot, you don’t go and buy something unless you know what it is you are getting. As my classical brethern would say, “Caveat emptor” (let the buyer beward) or, on occasion, “Caveat rumpus” (cover your ass). Lawyers, like doctors, offer a service and I understand that the Canadian practice of requiring opinion letters is not new at all. So it is bemusing to senile old me that we can adapt and adopt Canadian legislation (like the Companies Act and the Condominium Act) from Canadian law, but appear not interested in certain requirements of practice in Canada that would effectively protect the general public in Barbados if they were adopted. Little things like this and maybe saving court time by hearing minor pre-trial motions by conference call with all counsel and the judge, instead of requiring attendance.

  32. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Amused…………….as you very well know, that would make too much sense, and the clients will gain.

  33. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @BAFBFP | April 11, 2013 at 8:50 AM | Man you got me real laughing again.

  34. David Avatar
    David

    If we jump off this issue we find that a significant percentage of our members of parliament are members of the highest policymaking chamber in the land.

    May God help us!

  35. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    My point exactly……………….who have nothing to gain by making changes.

  36. Gabriel Tackle Avatar
    Gabriel Tackle

    The legal profession in Barbados has got to be upgraded and brought into line with more enlightened jurisdictions.For example,there should be a Fund to which all legal practioners are mandated to subscribe and which Fund would serve to provide a buffer between lawyers and clients in the event of a dispute
    or in the event of the untimely death of the lawyer and outstanding monies are at stake.Should a client have a dispute with a lawyer,the law should mandate the method of settlement and identify the responsible official

  37. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @Gabriel. We have some excellent attorneys in Barbados who fully understand the practice of law and the rules to be followed. Our most immediate problem lies with the courts (Registry and judges) not the attorneys who practice in them. Trust me, the attorneys are being as harmed and sinned against by the courts as the general public.

    But yes, I think most attorneys would completely agree with you that the system of discipline and dispute is very, very far from satisfactory and it needs to be looked into carefully and AT ONCE!! And a system found that is fair to all, whether it be yours (and I make no comment either pro or con on yours) or another.

    Very good submission, just the same. I don’t necessarily agree with all of it, but it is certainly a way to consider.

  38. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    Amused

    Don’t focus on the senile part of my comment. I said that you are either senile or DISHONEST. Since it is now apparent that you are not senile: dishonest is the only thing left.

    Section 45 (3) of the Legal Profession Act states:

    A Practising Certificate issued to an attorney-at-law shall be of no effect until the annual subscription required by section 44 has been paid.

    You old goat, I did not make that up.

  39. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    Gabriel Tackle

    Thank you! Your submission about the compensation about the compensation fund has proven to me beyond doubt that Amused is a fraud. He agrees with your submission that the compensation fund is desirable. What he did not tell you is that the Legal Profession Act has already provided for a compensation fund. He should read sections 47 to 52. He is a fraud.

  40. David Avatar
    David

    @Caswell

    Are you in the know what would have hindered former AGs like MAM and Sir David from acting to reconcile this matter? BU notes that reputed gurus on constitutional law Gollop and Stuart are on the list.

  41. ac Avatar
    ac

    Two “old goats” baháaaaaaing at each other how hilarious! HEE! HEE! love it!

  42. lemuel Avatar
    lemuel

    BAF
    Even if you do that and “drop suit in deh tail”, who is going to provide your legal oversight,not the bajan lawyers. Be certain that THEIR already rule out any one form over and away coming to assist you.

  43. Mark Fenty Avatar
    Mark Fenty

    @ Dr. Honourable
    Have you considered the fact that blacks in the Western Hemisphere, have had fewer than fifty years worth of experience, in governing their political affairs? While, whites, Chinese, and Indians have had practically thousands of years to perfect their social and political affairs.

  44. lemuel Avatar
    lemuel

    Amused
    Why the need to bring in the caribbean in relation to caswell’s comments. I think your difficulty with Caswell is that he, having not spent ALL of those years training as an attorney, seems to understand the said law and its factors better than you and 99% of the lawyers in Barbados.

    This also speaks to the fact that beyond the constraints placed on the numbers at our law schools, most of you are of an intellect that Caswell shall never bow to.

  45. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Seems like Caswell always does serious and factual research before answering questions pertaining to law……..

  46. Gabriel Tackle Avatar
    Gabriel Tackle

    @Caswell
    Can you give the BU family a few key provisions of section 47-52 of the LPA?

  47. lemuel Avatar
    lemuel

    Thank you Well Well and Gabriel Tackle for seeing the man’s genius. I too get a bit upset with Caswell at times but he shall remain a true legal eagle for me.

  48. PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS Avatar
    PLANTATION DEEDS FROM 1926-2013 AND SEE MASSIVE FRAUD ,LAND TAX BILLS AND NO DEEDS

    Well Well@ I get it ,I just like to look at what is not covered nor seen by most. We use the Queens English and laws are made , If the Agents of the law dont follow the laws using what the Queen have a patten on “English ” and the great charter , then what?One fly in the soup and i goes in the trash , I will not spoon it out and serve . I think different and see different i am not what 75percent will do as most call normal , Think of what the other 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 or even 1% does , Keys needed and doors need to be unlocked.

  49. ac Avatar
    ac

    WelL! Well! i see u floating nuff sh..te up in here among the attorneys. Stay well

  50. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    AC…………you know you will never understand…………….things like these are way above your comprehension level…………..just watch and learn, we would not want you to get hurt innocently.

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading