Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/3374/-1/140/
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CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM: ANGUILLIANS TOLD: "PUT YOUR CASE WELL"
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As Anguillians seek constitutional and electoral reform, they have been advised to put their case well and to place the tough issues at the forefront. The advice has come from Gerard Farara QC of Tortola, a noted legal luminary in the region. He was one of three highly-distinguished gentlemen who were invited to Anguilla to speak at the first public meeting of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Commission held at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on Saturday night, March 4. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Chairman Claudel Romney in the absence of the Chairman, Justice Don Mitchell, CBE, QC.
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L-R: Dr. Corbin, Mr. Farara, Dr. Howard Fergus and Mr. Claudel Romney
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Without going into the details, Mr. Farara, who is fresh from the London talks on constitutional advancement in the British Virgin Islands, said his team had done exactly that and that all concerned were of the view that good progress was made. “It is important to put your case well and that starts with your report,” he told his listeners. “I can’t over emphasise it. Start with more [public] consultation and participation by members of the community in the exercise, making your views known and doing it well.”
He said that in doing so, Anguillians should be cognisant of the UK’s position in the international community as regards good governance, defence, security and other responsibilities. “The UK certainly has responsibility to ensure good governance, but so do we for our respective territories,” he asserted. He further said that there was a need to be clever in what “we recommend, how we structure our recommendations and how we argue our case for constitutional change.”
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Main section of audience at the Constitutional meeting
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Dr. Sir Howard Fergus, of Montserrat, made several note-worthy points. Among other things, he said: “My suggestion is that we recognise the challenges without being phased by them and we have to work to ensure that the parameters of partnership are not unilaterally determined, but are based on mutual respect. One cannot accomplish much without giving careful and serious consideration to the powers of the Governor. This may not be appreciated in some quarters and there may be stubborn resistance, but as long as the Governor possesses certain reserved powers which are outside the competence of the elected members, there exists what I refer to as a democratic deficit. We cannot achieve constitutional modernisation without reducing that deficit and we cannot reduce that deficit without some evolution of the powers of the Governor.”
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A section of the audience
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The other speaker was Dr. Carlyle Corbin from the University of the Virgin Islands and a noted authority on constitutional development in the Caribbean and outside the region. He looked at various forms of constitutional change and systems affecting small island states like Anguilla. Dr. Corbin is quite familiar with the Anguilla situation, having worked closely with the former Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee and with the United Nations Regional Seminar on decolonisation matters relating to Anguilla and other Overseas Territories.
In looking at the need for constitutional change, Dr. Corbin advised: “Don’t be afraid to go out on the limb because there is where the fruit is.”