Former attorney general Garvin Nicholas says an Attorney General’s role goes further than “only acting when told to do so.”
Nicholas made the point yesterday in applauding AG Faris Al-Rawi for his initiative in seeking to examine the statistical groundwork concerning decriminalisation of marijuana.
Support for the AG’s initiative came from several quarters after Prime Minister Keith Rowley subsequently said the matter wasn’t discussed with Cabinet and Government wasn’t examining it at this point.
Nicholas, detailing how AG’s operate traditionally, said, “While I’m saddened by the behaviour of the PM on this issue, I’ll applaud the present AG for his initiative.
“It’s without question that the AG’s responsibilities go further than being legal adviser to the Cabinet or only acting when told to so do. The AG is a constitutional creature of the Government and the role is diverse and far reaching. It surely cannot be expected that every action contemplated by the AG must first receive Cabinet or prime ministerial approval.
“While ministers—the AG included—must formulate plans along the broader policy framework approved by the Cabinet, this is not to say a minister cannot seek to influence or change policy. It’s of utmost importance that ministers attempt to influence changes when necessary. However, the doctrine of collective responsibility dictates that policy changing should be done at the level of Cabinet first.”
Nicholas added, “As attorney general, I strongly believed that we as a country needed to look towards the decriminalisation of marijuana. On many occasions I was questioned by the media on the subject. I was very conscious that if the AG pronounced on an issue such as this, it would be deemed government policy, so I didn’t.
“Having not received consensus at Cabinet level for this proposal, it would have been irresponsible of me to pronounce on it. But this didn’t prevent or stop me from taking soundings or consulting. I consulted with the CJ, DPP, acting CoP, religious heads, psychiatrists, foreign partners and legal colleagues on this issue. I also received a significant body of data to support decriminalisation and the subsequent regulatory framework which I’d be happy to share with this AG for the good of all.”
Nicholas, however, said the AG must “not put the cart before the horse as he might risk falling out of favour with the PM and subsequent replacement by a younger more compliant minister.”
Political analyst, Dr Hamid Ghany, said the AG was a Cabinet member and the PM was entitled to comment on policy issues from any ministry. But he said the AG was exercising his individual ministerial responsibility and was entitled to pursue whatever initiative he thought his ministry should, which may ultimately have to be taken to Cabinet for approval.
“So this looks more like a miscommunication gap within the Government; also the PM reacted to a headline since he said he didn’t read the story,” Ghany added.
Political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said, “We have prime ministerial Government here—the PM is in charge and none of the ministers would dare do anything against his wishes. While not necessarily the best thing, as it puts all the power in the hands of one, it’s the process of Cabinet Government.
“I note this Government has many new ministers who would be on their ‘ps’ and “qs” to ensure they don’t go against the leader. The AG, while experienced, is in his first term of Government. But since the PM can hire and fire, these ministers are walking on eggshells, when you also look at how the health minister reacted after a recent issue, involving some of his statements.”
Ragoonath said: “It seems the PM is pulling them back in line every so often...it’s not a good thing as it suggests we have a maximum leadership.”
Former public service head Reginald Dumas said ministers don’t have to “run” to Cabinet for everything.
“If so, we’d be back to (Eric) Williams’ days. I recall one minister went to Whitehall urgently to ask Dr Williams how to reply to a question a journalist posed. But we can’t return to the days when Cabinet was dominated by Williams and ministers were afraid to take initiatives for fear of being clobbered.”
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The AG’s statements came last Thursday when he was asked about the lobby to decriminalise “weed” which has simmered in recent years among various quarters including the Judiciary and was renewed recently with calls to the new PNM administration. Last Tuesday, Downtown Owners and Merchants Association president, Gregory Aboud, supporting the Catholic Church’s “mercy” call for certain remanded prisoners to be freed, also called for decriminalisation of marijuana beyond medicinal purposes.
In that overall context, Al-Rawi was asked the position on decriminalisation. He had started off his reply by saying his ministry is reviewing several laws, “...one of which is the Dangerous Drugs act, and yes, it’s that piece of legislation that deals with the criminalisation of cannabis.” He’d made it clear any studies, statistic-gathering, including consultations, wouldn’t be an overnight process and no snap decision would be taken.