Tales from the Courts – CJ Gibson Hammered by the Court of Appeal XXXII
Barbados Supreme Court of Barbados
BU is awaiting the remainder of the posted document because true to expectation it is not yet available on the Supreme Court of Judicature website and it is not readily available in soft copy. Yet, the losing attorney, Barry Gale QC, has commented on it in the press. “It” is the decision of the Court of Appeal (Justices of Appeal Burgess and Goodridge and Justice William Chandler (ag)) in overturning the decision of the Chief Justice, sitting as a judge of the High Court, in the Banks Holdings Limited matter. The only decision that the Chief Justice has actually authored since taking office years ago.
To say that the Court of Appeal has ‘KOed’ Chief Justice Marston Gibson would be to understate the case by a considerable margin. The Court of Appeal has in fact decimated the Chief Justice. It constitutes a serious indictment of the judicial competence of the Chief Justice in the starkest possible judicial terms. In other common law jurisdictions, such an overturning and judgement would cause any self-respecting judge to resign with haste.
So what have we got? We have a chief justice who has: (a) singularly failed to solve the enormous backlog of cases before both the High Court and the Court of Appeal; (b) who has himself been sued for abuse of power and gross misconduct; (c) who has indulged in press statements prejudicial to a case before the Court of Appeal of which he is head; (d) who has spent his judicial time dealing with bail applications, rather than trying cases; (e) who has usurped the authority and rights of the executive in his issuance of certain practice directions; and (f) who has now been made to look like an untalented first year law student by the Court of Appeal. Indeed, the sole talents and accomplishments of the Chief Justice seem to have been cocktail parties, overseas trips and getting his name and photo in the press – in that order. Oh, and let us not forget embarrassing both himself and the country in the region and internationally.
Once again, BU apologizes that it is only able to post a part of the judgement, but will, in due course and as soon as we receive it, post the remainder.
- Read the full judgement of Court of Appeal ruling handed down by Justices Goodridge, Burgess and Chandler
Barbados Underground 
Indeed, the sole talents and accomplishments of the Chief Justice seem to have been cocktail parties, overseas trips and getting his name and photo in the press – in that order. Oh, and let us not forget embarrassing both himself and the country in the region and internationally.@@@
Well that sounds like the rest of DBLP government , So he is in good company, No one leaves office in Barbados for they all crooks and will take a pay check to the end of term,
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“Oops! Ah mek anudder mistake!” ( Doctor Ah Ah, the dentist.) Am I right in believing that I should now be SURPRISED if our arms of government get ANYTHING right in this country? Is this the man whom the government fought so hard to bring home for this position?
A prime minister “hit for six, an attorney general with unbridled tongue, and a clown of a chief justice spell even more disaster for the administration of justice in Barbados. How am I supposed to have faith in this system? What comfort is there in leaving it to the law?
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Once more,we are under the curse of something to be saddled with poor examples of senior servants of the people……PM Stuart,AG Brathwaite,CJ Gibson and DPP Leacock.
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It begs the question “Given that we are a talented and brilliant people why are we our top leaders falling down on the job?”Perhaps we need to remember remainder of the phrase “The cream rises to the top”.
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Gazer,
The answer is that the cream is prevented by artificial means from rising to the top.
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I have seen this judgement which has been making the rounds of the fraternity. Everyone knew that Gibson’s decision was way off base, but no one expected the Court of Appeal to step up to the plate and smash him out of the ballpark. All thought that the decision would be overturned in polite and face-saving (for Gibson) terms typical of the PC Barbados. The Bench has, for some time, been extremely dissatisfied with Gibson, which has seemed to cause it to indulge in correct judgements, instead of the usual cover-up.
I have to say that I am astounded that Gibson has not had the grace and dignity to resign. I realise that he is in a predicament as to where he will go next and under what conditions and I do sympathise with him in part. However, my main sympathies are with litigants and the people of our country who have seen our banana-republic courts reduce our foreign investments to banana-republic standards.
There has to be a resolution. Gibson is covered by judicial immunity in the present case. However, he is not covered by judicial immunity in the case brought against him and he certainly has no defence in so far as his practice directions are concerned. As for his comments to the press about a pending case before the Court of Appeal, well…..it all adds up to gross misconduct. Therefore, Gibson needs to resign or the buck stops at the PM’s door. But there has to be resolution and very soon. Now, we all realise, I am sure, the benefits and deficits that accrue or otherwise between resigning and being fired, but that is not our concern. Our concern is watching the backlog getting larger and larger, our regional and international status being further impaired and our foreign investments going down the toilet. Against these national disasters, the problems of Gibson pale into insignificance. We and the PM have to look at the big picture and not the personal problems of one man. Surely the national good supersedes that of Gibson.
So, while I have no problem with Gibson’s judgement and its inevitable reversal by the Court of Appeal. What I do have a problem with is that there does not seem to be a single aspect of his job that Gibson is capable of performing. It makes Barbados a laughing stock yet again. Sad.
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A read of the partial judgement appears to even the untrained legal person the CJ struggled with applying a basic level of interpretation. How many cases has the CJ presided/delivered judgements solo?
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@ Amused
What is with all the sanctimonious diatribe boss?
How is Gibson any different from EVERYTHING else associated with your profession locally?
Steupsss…
The man is a big joke …yes! BUT so are 98% of all the rest o’ wunna…
Sounds to Bushie like a lotta black-ass pots calling a kettle black yuh….
Wuh look how comfortably he has fit into the lotta shiite wunna got down there wunna calling a “judiciary”…. His problem seems to be that he actually tried to do something…. poor fella…
Of course we all know that the SOP of wunna culture is to DO NOTHING, DELAY, and obfuscate ….. until elected as PM…. or forced to pay back client’s money.
Left the damn man do!!
When you decide to call for a complete OVERHAUL of the total shiite system, Bushie will be right behind you …with a ‘lens …(de whacker get tek ‘way).
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Those who complain about the CJ should bear in mind that this is a political position, like AG or minister of justice.
The man had no experience in judicial management before appointment, just family law at a lower foreign court and some scholarship decades ago.
In other countries you would replace the man. In Bim you get a medal for that.
Everyone with a rest of clear mind excludes local judiciary in business transactions. If you go to the Supreme Court you have already lost in economic terms.
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“Oh, and let us not forget embarrassing both himself and the country in the region and internationally.’
Pray tell how the above happened. Please list the times, places, and actions that led to the CJ “embarrassing himself ,the country and the region internationally.
Just state the facts, thanks.
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“There is an appeal going on in the High Court of Barbados that would not be taking place were it not for Knox taking her case to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).”
http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/83049/hoyos-file-legacy-kingsland-estates#sthash.xpQ9Vxdd.dpuf
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@Hants
As you know BU has covered the Kingslands Estate matter for many years (Donald Best tossed in for the side show) and the local media for whatever reason has instituted a blackout. It is good to see Hoyos has seen a way to force this matter to the daily. He should however declare his interest in the matter.
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The number of lawyers with management skills in this island can be counted on one hand. Barbados needs practical managers, we already have more than enough impotent thinkers.
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A PM who is a lawyer,a former AG, relieves himself of internalized ignorance and is amazed to be instructed by a junior counsel who affirmed that this QC did not know the content of the Bail Act,that he was not only hit for 6 but given out by the umpire of public opinion.
A CJ who was overturned by an Appeal Court for mis-applying the Law of the Land.
An AG who relieves himself of internalized ignorance in 1)Second guessing the Rt Hon E W Barrow and the Supreme Court of Judicature in their right and proper decision to admit an approved Attorney at Law to practise her craft in the Realm of Barbados,and 2)the said AG unmindful of his role as AG,second guessing a Justice of the High Court in granting bail in accordance with the Bail Act and appears to seek a decision to grant special privilege to a suspect who is alleged to have committed a crime.
Now there is the the Court of Appeal which by its act or acts appear not to know the Law of the Land as interpreted by the CCJ.Barbados cannot be comfortable with these pronouncements.
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One would hope that Barbados was represented at this conference.Meanwhile the CCJ is modernizing its systems to benefit both its deliberations on a timely basis as well as to serve the interest of the citizen.
http://guyanachronicle.com/ccj-to-implement-measures-to-reduce-paper-use-in-judicial-process/
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Further details on the speeding up of intra state acceptance of certain legal documents:
http://guyanachronicle.com/guyana-other-countries-urged-to-be-part-of-hague-convention/
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@Gabriel
Anybody who has visited the CCJ will be impressed by the professional behaviour on offer and especially the technology.
>
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“A CJ who was overturned by an Appeal Court for mis-applying the Law of the Land”.
Gabriel, this is mere happenstance. Every judgment is subject to appeal and prone to being overturned except that of the apical Court, whose opinion is always right…not because of its cogency, but because there can be no appeal from it!
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@ Jeff
Every judgment is subject to appeal and prone to being overturned
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So are you saying ‘No big thing’… then?
Surely you jest…
Sound judgement, rooted in law and good judgement may be subject to appeal, but surely only to being overturned….unless you are saying that the whole ‘Law’ business is just a lotta ‘hit or miss’ rulings, ….where such decisions are arbitrary.
Everything may be subject to appeal – and to being reversed, but shiite man, ….if the head of surgery is being over-ruled, who the hell should be going back under his knife?
He owes it to the public to offer his resignation ..and to go his way in peace.
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The full judgement now updated.
@Jeff
What are you saying? Do you not agree that the CJ erred badly in his interpretation of the Companies Act?
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@ The Honourable Blogmaster
Surely that is certainly a rhetorical question?
I do not see Jeff answering that one at all especially with that “erred badly” tag line
I see him now saying something like “I am saying that as with all decisions, it is the prerogative of the parties to appeal AND it is within the power of the new justice to overturn the findings of the first court”
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@David what of the technical point related to ANSA’s ability to bring the legal action in the first place? As I understood it they were precluded from bringing a suit based on any information they discovered during their due diligence review and the details of the CDPA was unearthed then.
Was that claim dismissed by the courts? I missed that.
A CJ is not infallible. But being overturned is a tad hard on the psyche for one of that stature.
The question of his resignation becomes moot because of all the other issues he faces but were this his only issue it surely would not warrant talk of resignation.
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.Jeff says its mere happenstance but we are all agreed that it’s unfortunate when the titular head of the Judiciary is told by his juniors in Appeal,that he has been weighed in the balances and found wanting…..as Decanus Emeritus 1 would have said ‘Mene,mene,tekel upharsin’.
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@Bushie, if the resignation of a judicial officer should be consequent on his judgment being overturned, then we would have the judges of the highest court only. And, according to the CCJ, Barbados should not have a Court of Appeal!
Law is inherently adversarial; if there were a single correct answer, then there would not be two sides in a dispute on the law and happens in most court of Appeal matters.In that circumstance, we could have the decision rendered by a computer.
The CJ was only subject to the opinion of his “juniors” in this matters because he sat as a justice at first instance, as any other CJ in Barbados identically situated would be.
Man overturned decision simply says that we, the higher court, do not agree with your decision in this matter for the following reasons. it is now up to legal scholars to analyze the decision in light of research to determine whose was more cogent.
You all seem to think that Gibson was hopelessly wrong merely because the Court of Appeal disagreed with him? Or is it that you assume he cannot do anything right?
“I see him now saying something like “I am saying that as with all decisions, it is the prerogative of the parties to appeal AND it is within the power of the new justice to overturn the findings of the first court”
Piece. you know me too well!!
@David, a “bad error” by a judge is not constituted by a difference in legal opinion only between him and the higher court, but rather by his or her failure to refer to relevant authority and precedent!!
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No two ways about it Jeff…
You are ‘good as shiite’….
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Jeff
Like Bushie says it succinctly….you good as sh..te.The final paragraph to David says it all…”but by a failure to refer to relevant authority and precedent”.
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@ Jeff,
Thanks for explaining the issue .
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You are welcome, Mr Skinner!
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“Having lost the war for Banks Holdings Limited (BHL) of Barbados to AmBev of Brazil, ANSA McAl of Trinidad & Tobago learned last week that it could win one of the major battles. Except that it is now much too late.”
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