A senior attorney and former Law Association council member, Darrell Allahar, wants to know if the Attorney General consulted the association or its president, Lynette Seebaran-Suite, on the recent senior counsel appointments.
Allahar wrote to the association’s secretary on June 20, asking questions.
He also wanted to know, if LATT or its president were consulted and provided feedback, what was the process, and whether the council had approved it.
Earlier this week, 14 attorneys took “silk” (were made senior counsel), among them two government ministers and an MP. Two more are still to receive their appointments as they were out of the country.
Contacted on June 20, Seebaran-Suite said the association was expected to issue a statement.
Allahar asked, among other things: “Did that process involve consideration of the views of persons other than the president of the LATT and if so, how were they selected?
“Was anyone involved in that process supplied with copies of the applications and resumes of the applicants for ‘silk’?
“Was it left to the president of LATT to make the final decision on the persons to be recommended to the Attorney General?
“If the president of LATT made the final decision on those recommendations, what factors did she take into account?
“How many persons were ultimately recommended to the Attorney General by the president of LATT and the reason for that specific number?
“Does the council intend to make the information requested herein available to all of the members of LATT?”
On June 17, President Christine Kangaloo outlined the selection process, saying it was guided by the terms of the legal order 282 of 1964.
It started, she said, with the Attorney General inviting attorneys to apply, after which he would consult with the Chief Justice and “such other persons as he considers necessary.” The AG would then recommend attorneys to the Prime Minister, who would advise the President of those to be awarded silk.
Allahar said in 2023, in a statement, LATT said it had had no consultations with the Attorney General on the merits of those attorneys who applied.
On June 18, Senior Counsel Israel Khan also raised questions over the award of silk to former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi,
He said the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which he heads, was of the view the minister should not be awarded senior counsel status unless he was “cleared of all wrongdoings” concerning the indemnity agreement he entered into for the Government with convicted King’s Counsel Vincent Nelson.
Also questioning the appointments was former speaker Nizam Mohammed. His name was on two lists of attorneys to be awarded silk, but he was seemingly bypassed for selection.
He has not ruled out possibly submitting a freedom of information request to find out why he was not selected.
Allahar reminded of the recommendations of the "silk report” produced by a special committee of LATT, which was adopted.
He said one recommendation was an independent panel comprising certain officeholders and three sen
