Lawyer denies AG’s version of recusal in Prithima Kissoon case

Apr 08, 2018 News

Justice Nandram Kissoon

Nigel Hughes, lawyer for Prithima Kissoon, the former Deputy Solicitor General who is locked in a court battle against the Attorney General Chambers, has denied the version of events that was reported.
According to Hughes in a statement, it was Justice Nandram Kissoon, Chairman, Public Service Appellate Tribunal, who first announced that the appellant, Prithima Kissoon, was his niece.

Attorney General Basil Williams and former Deputy Solicitor General, Prithima Kissoon

The Ministry of Legal Affairs/Attorney General Chambers, however, in its statement, said it was the state lawyers who pointed out the conflict of interest situation.
Prithima Kissoon is fighting what she said is her wrongful dismissal.

“The Attorney General Chambers in its own deliberate judgement issued a press release in an ongoing matter which is currently engaging the attention of the Public Service Appellate Tribunal. It is unfortunate that in its press release it escaped the attention of the Chambers of the Attorney General that fidelity and accuracy were integral to the administration of justice even in the promotion of the efforts of chambers,” Hughes said yesterday.
He explained that on Wednesday when the appeal by Prithima Kissoon engaged the

Attorney-at-law,
Nigel Hughes

attention of the tribunal, the Chairman first announced that the appellant was his niece, and raised the issue of possible bias and invited “counsels from both sides to assist the Tribunal by way of written submissions on this issue”.
The Chairman in his invitation referred counsel to the Pinochet decision as one of the several authorities on this issue.
“It was after this invitation that Counsel for the Attorney General indicated that they had intended to raise the issue. Counsel for the Attorney General thereafter requested permission to make additional submissions on the issue of abuse of process. The Tribunal thereafter invited Counsels from both sides to assist the court by providing written submissions including references to case law and academic material.”
Hughes said that it is the hope that in future the endeavors of the Chambers of the Attorney General to report on their efforts in court “will be accompanied by some dedication to accuracy and perhaps less on agendas unrelated to the proceedings in court”.