Retired Justice of Appeal Anthony Lucky blames poor communication for the failure of the government to gazette the Uff commission of inquiry that caused hearings to be suspended and almost shut down the inquiry.Lucky was the one-man commissioner appointed to look in what caused the error that rendered the hearings unconstitutional.
Last week he presented his report to Attorney General John Jeremie in which he described the error as "a tragedy of oversight".
In his report, Lucky said: “I have to mention that the more I review the circumstances surrounding this inquiry, and the interviews with the parties summoned in this matter, the more I am convinced that this is the classic case of each of the relevant parties thinking the other or others had complied with the requirements of the Commission of Inquiry Act.
“It a classic case of lack of communication, assumptions and presumptions, inadvertence that resulted in a crucial requirement being overlooked for just under a year,” he said.
“In the circumstances, I cannot ascribe sole responsibility to any specific person or persons. I find that the failure to gazette the commission is a tragedy of oversight.”
The inquiry closed on Thursday. President Max Richards has given the commission until the end of February to present its report.
Lucky noted that the President of Trinidad and Tobago does not have a permanent legal adviser or in-house counsel and suggested that should change since "the majority, if not all, of His Excellency’s decisions have a legal underpinning or may require knowledge of the relevant requirements of the law".
He recommended that the state should appoint an in-house counsel "to advise His Excellency if and when legal matters arise."
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