JAMBAR wants answers about basis of appointment of acting DPP

The Jamaican Bar Association (JAMBAR) is calling for the Public Service Commission (PSC) to clarify the basis on which an acting director of public prosections (DPP) has been appointed.

Prosecutor Claudette Thompson was appointed to act in the post on Monday after Paula Llewellyn stepped away on Sunday.

JAMBAR says the PSC should say whether the acting appointment was made on the basis of the post of DPP being vacant or on the basis of Llewellyn being unable to perform the functions of the office.

It notes that the Attorney General (AG) had said on Sunday that the PSC would be invited to “appoint a qualified person to act in the role of Director of Public Prosecutions for the time being” in accordance with Section 96(3) of the Constitution.

JAMBAR says the inferences that can be made from the statements from the AG are that Llewellyn remains the holder of the substantive post of a DPP unable to perform the functions of the office, and Thompson is acting as DPP on that premise.

The bar association notes that Section 96(3) of the Constitution states that an acting appointment of a DPP may be made if “the holder of that office is for any reason unable to perform the functions thereof”.

It is questioning whether the words “any reason” can properly be interpreted to include a court ruling that declares as null and void the premise on which that particular individual holds the office.

"The danger of that interpretation of Section 96(3), if it is incorrect, is that it gives rise to a further and even more serious question of whether the acting DPP could properly have been appointed, until the Attorney General's appeal against the court ruling is heard." JAMBAR says.

It also states that if the acting appointment was made on the basis of Llewellyn's inability to perform the functions of the office, the PSC must clarify the reason for the inability.

"A clear indication of the basis of the acting appointment is of grave national importance and is indispensable to the certainty the nation must have with respect to the legality of actions of the Office of the DPP," it said.

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