UDP Accuses Government of Favoring Judicial Elite

Chairlady for the United Democratic Party, Sheena Pitts says the Briceño  administration established judicial elitism with the Judges Salaries and Pension Bill. According to Pitts, the bill secures retirement benefits for High Court and Court of Appeal judges, while excluding the magistracy. Notably, magistrates are entitled to retirement benefits as public servants. But according to Pitts, while magistrates qualify after fifteen years, the bill proposes a qualification period of five years for High Court and Court of Appeal judges.

 

Sheena Pitts, Chairlady, United Democratic Party

“The last of those bills that we said no man, I have to throw my selves on the ground and roll in dirt, because here the government is telling us in our faces we are willing to assemble the National Assembly to pass legislation for the few not the many. Addressing this matter of the judges salaries and pension go to the very heart of fairness, institutional integrity and national development. Let me state from the outset, no serious person can dispute that judicial officers deserve proper compensation, security of tenure and dignified retirement protection. Judicial independence is fundamental to democracy and the rule of law. But judicial independence must never become judicial elitism.”

 

Pitts says the bill creates inequality within the judiciary, while calling on the Briceño administration to create a level playing field.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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