Jyoti Communication

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said on national television Tuesday he consulted the president of the Law Association, Dana Seetahal, on the matter of the award of silk and is surprised to learn that she has said there was no consultation.

He said he spoke with Seetahal by telephone on the issue and that Seetahal was "fully aware" of the entire list. He said she provided feedback, "expressed concerns about some of the people on the list and some of these individuals did not make the final cut."

He also made it clear that Seetahal knew that the names of Chief Justice Ivor Archie and Appeal Court Justice Wendell Kangaloo were on the list. Last Friday both men returned their Senior Counsel instruments after criticism about sitting members of the judiciary receiving the title.

On December 30, Ramlogan, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Archie and Kangaloo were among 16 who received the title of Senior Counsel or "silk", from President Max Richards.

Ramlogan proposed the appointments following consultation with the Law Association. He said Persad-Bissessar agreed on the final list, which she sent to the Office of the President.

The Law Association had issued a media release on January 2 on the matter.

It stated, "The Council wishes to clarify that its president was contacted via telephone by the Honourable Attorney General when information was given to the effect that certain names were being considered for silk.

"In the ensuing conversation neither sufficient information nor adequate time was given and the president never understood the conversation to have taken place as part of a consultative process. The Council therefore does not accept that either its president or the Law Association was consulted."