Judges being excluded from certain cases - PL

Opposition Justice spokesman Jose Herrera said today that the Opposition was concerned over the assignment of certain cases in court, and how some judges were being excluded from deciding particular cases.

He said this was being said mostly for cases of a political nature and others of particular sensitivity. This practice was giving the impression of 'forum shopping'.

"For example, it is very worrying how in the Superior Courts, of all the judges who preside the First Hall of the Civil Court, a partoicular judge is being excluded from deciding Constitutional cases which often involve fundamental human rights."

Dr Herrera said the Opposition could not be quiet when it saw how political cases were being assigned to particular judges. These included libel cases and cases dealing with the judicial investigation of administrative action.

While the Opposition agreed that there should be some streaming in the assignment of cases to the members of the judiciary, the systematic way which was leading to this form of forum shopping was raising doubts on the administration of justice, Dr Herrera said.

He recalled that the PN, while in Opposition, had criticised the then Labour government over the way how the government assigned work to the judiciary, claiming it played musical chairs with judges. But what was happening now bore some similarities to this, Dr Herrera said.