The Shadow of Schofield Stretches into Rites of another "Legal Year"

Another opening of the Legal Year. The wigs, the gowns, the pomp and ceremony, the Red Mass, the ‘oratory' of lawyers addressing other lawyers...and, for a third consecutive year, the shadow of the Rock's suspended Chief Justice was a dark cloud over the annual gathering. It was eluded to by Sir Murray Stuart-Smith who pointed out that for a second year the Rock had been without a Chief Justice. And, with a ruling likely in the next fortnight from the seven Privy Council judges who are assessing the case for and against Derek Schofield - in effect deciding on his future - the Schofield shadow was inevitable.

Complaint to the Governor

It has hovered across Gibraltar's legal fraternity ever since the "Big Four" law firms handed their letter of complaint to the Governor. And it has divided the legal fraternity into those who believe the judge to have been hard done by and those - some of them among the Caruana camp sharing the Chief Minister's antipathy towards Schofield as a person - who believe there are grounds for him to go.

At this year's ceremony the shadowy spectre was given a more tangible substance by the gauntlet thrown down by the Chief Justice's wife, Anne Schofield, in an open letter to Justice Minister Daniel Feetham. The letter, published in the Chronicle on the morning of the ceremony was cavalierly dismissed by Attorney General Ricky Rhoda who heard "distant rumblings". But although Mrs Schofield, herself a lawyer, muddied the waters of her argument - and her customary accusative bristling should perhaps have been directed at the Chief Minister and some members of the Bar Council rather than the Minister of Justice - she voiced questions about safeguards of the independence of the judiciary which are shared by local members of the legal fraternity and deserve to be aired.

She also deserves to be listened to for, however prickly she may be, she is honest in her belief in the rule of law and her pursuit of openness. And both the Chief Minister and the Attorney General - numbered among those who have verbally belittled her from the safety of Parliament or in more public addresses - do themselves a disservice...and have encouraged greater local sympathy (and, hence, support) for her than her legal arguments might have won.

In this instance, Feetham should not have been targeted as a channel for her complaints or concerns. As the Rock's first real Minister of Justice, Feetham has brought to his portfolio a professional dedication which not only underscores the wisdom of his appointment to a role created in the ‘new' Constitution, but has set a benchmark which many would wish that his Ministerial colleagues would aim for, let alone attain.

He has done sterling, innovative work for which he was rightly lauded and singled out as ‘the motor for change' during this week's ceremonies. As well as the legislative reforms he has introduced - including the Children Act, Matrimonial Cases Act, and Criminal Land & Procedure legislation - Feetham recently completed the Herculean task of codifying the accumulated mass of Gibraltar laws and regulations.

Feetham's valuable achievements

But while Feetham has achieved a great deal during his two years in the new Ministerial office, even more remains to be done as the backlog of court cases lengthens; accommodation becomes more squeezed, particularly with the new Supreme Court facilities a long way from completion; and as the growing work-load of the courts is made ever more heavier by the perennial shortage of staff...something which the appointment of a third judge to the Supreme Court will ease only slightly.

And with his new role Feetham has inherited a heavy load of legal baggage created by arcane legislation in crying need of reform and change.

For instance, the cosmetic promises of Legal Aid reform are of scant comfort to those Gibraltarians precluded from justice by their financial circumstances - who, because they are not indigent poor, are not entitled to legal advice or assistance paid for from public funds. Then too - though this is probably the province of the Bar Council, which should be regulating the 184 lawyers practicing on the Rock, but at times seems blind to its members' faults or transgressions - it would be a service to the Gibraltar public to give those with no grasp of the law protection from members of the profession who rely on this lack to threaten or brow-beat them.

Feetham has achieved more than most expected of him; but there's a long, long trail a-winding unto the land of his (and the lay electorate's) dreams...