-proposes review of sentencing for serious offences
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has rejected the suggestion that his criticism of sentencing practices amounted to executive interference with the judiciary and has proposed an independent review of sentences for firearm and other serious offences.
Responding yesterday to a joint statement issued by Caribbean heads of judiciary, Browne said his government had never requested or attempted the removal, reassignment or deportation of any judicial officer.
He nevertheless stood by his criticism of what he described as unduly lenient sentences and warned that recurring sentencing outcomes were undermining public safety and confidence in the courts.
“I respect the constitutional office held by each signatory and I reaffirm, without qualification, the importance of an independent and impartial judiciary,” Browne said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
“Judicial independence is essential to democratic government. However, it does not place judicial decisions or the administration of justice beyond reasoned public criticism.”
He added that judicial independence did not require an elected government to remain silent when sentences raised “serious and recurring questions” about public safety, legislative policy and confidence in the justice system.
The regional judicial heads issued their joint statement on Wednesday in response to remarks made by Browne on August 10 about a sitting judicial officer and sentences imposed in serious criminal cases.
They said criticism of judicial decisions must respect the separation of powers and warned that threats to remove, reassign or deport a judge because of dissatisfaction with a decision would be incompatible with judicial independence, security of tenure and the rule of law.
The statement maintained that where a sentence was considered unduly lenient, the lawful and legitimate course was an appeal through the established court process.
The judicial heads also stressed that judges must be permitted to decide cases independently, according to the law and the circumstances before them, without fear of personal or professional consequences.
Browne said the judicial heads had interpreted his language as an executive instruction against a judge.
“It did not,” he said.
He described his remarks as “a last resort warning” intended to draw the attention of the judicial hierarchy to what he considered a failure to address the “indiscretion and deliberate disregard” of some judicial officers for legislation governing serious firearm offences.
He said the law provides for custodial sentences of up to 15 years for such crimes and maintained that the government could be forced to consider other lawful remedies to protect the public if the problem persisted.
“To remove all doubt, there has never been any request or action by my government to remove, or reassign or deport any member of the judiciary,” Browne said.
He acknowledged that the tenure, assignment and conduct of judicial officers were governed by the Constitution and other laws and said those arrangements would be respected.
“That clarification neither withdraws nor dilutes my criticism of sentencing outcomes and institutional performance,” he said. “It makes clear that my criticism is not directed at the constitutional security or personal independence of any judge.”
Appeal not only remedy
Browne disputed the judicial heads’ assertion that an appeal was the only lawful and legitimate means of addressing an unduly lenient sentence.
He accepted that an appeal was the proper mechanism for challenging or correcting a sentence in an individual case but said it could not, by itself, address possible systemic deficiencies.
“The Joint Statement says that an appeal is the only lawful and legitimate way to address an unduly lenient sentence. That is not accurate,” he said.
Browne noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions has had a statutory right to appeal sentences in Antigua and Barbuda since the passage of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act in 2004. He acknowledged that the decision to exercise that power rests with the constitutionally independent DPP.
However, he said an appeal in one matter would not settle wider questions about sentencing patterns, statutory penalties, sentencing guidelines, repeat offenders, delays, rehabilitation and coordination among the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional authorities.
“Parliament may legislate, the Executive may propose policy and provide resources, and the Judiciary may interpret and apply the law,” he said.
“Reasoned public criticism and structured engagement among these institutions are also entirely consistent with the separation of powers.”
Browne said his August 10 remarks arose from concern among law-enforcement officials and the wider population over firearm violence and statutory rape and what they regarded as unduly lenient sentences in some serious cases.
He said the remarks did not seek to dictate the outcome of any case, reopen a concluded matter or encourage disregard for a court order.
Browne disclosed that he wrote Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret Price Findlay on Wednesday proposing the immediate establishment of an independent committee.
He said the committee should review sentencing for firearm and other serious violent offences, repeat offending and the operation of Antigua and Barbuda’s wider criminal justice system.
The proposed review would examine a defined body of sentencing data, determine whether there was any material difference between legislative policy and sentencing outcomes, identify the causes and recommend reforms.
Browne said he had suggested former Caribbean Court of Justice President, Justice Adrian Saunders as chairman, subject to his willingness to serve.
He said he had also consulted former CCJ president Sir Dennis Byron and Justice Godfrey Smith SC, CARICOM’s High-Level Representative on Law and Criminal Justice.
According to Browne, Byron and Smith were prepared to assist the committee, including by making available work already undertaken by Smith and others.
“This is a firm, constitutional and evidence-led response to a matter of urgent public importance,” Browne said.
“If the Heads of Judiciary support constructive and collaborative engagement, I invite them to support this initiative and to help ensure that it proceeds without delay.”
Public health crisis
Browne said the disagreement was not merely theoretical, pointing to CARICOM’s designation of crime and violence as a public health crisis.
He warned that the region could descend into uncontrolled criminality if all branches of government failed to respond urgently and in a coordinated manner.
Firearm violence, he said, threatened the public’s right to live without fear, harmed families, burdened law-enforcement agencies and weakened trust in institutions. It also placed at risk the social and economic stability on which tourism, investment and employment depend.
“Those consequences require urgency from every arm of the State,” he said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that sentencing required consideration of the applicable legislation and guidelines, appellate decisions, guilty pleas, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, previous convictions, time spent on remand and the totality principle.
“The answer is to examine the evidence rigorously, not to dismiss the concern before it is examined,” he said.
Browne said his administration had recently received a renewed parliamentary mandate after campaigning on promises to address gun crime, violence against women and sexual offences against children.
He acknowledged that the mandate did not place the executive above the law but said it imposed an obligation to protect the public and speak plainly where the public interest required it.
“Judicial independence and institutional accountability are not opposing principles,” he said.
“Our Government seeks no control over the decision of any court. It does seek a criminal justice system that is lawful, proportionate, transparent, consistent and effective in protecting the public.”
Browne said that widespread lenient sentencing, in the absence of extenuating circumstances, would serve only to erode public safety and confidence in the judiciary.
“The people of Antigua and Barbuda are entitled to both an independent judiciary and a justice system that responds proactively and credibly to serious violent crime,” he said. “My Government will continue to work for both.”
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