Thursday, August 31, 2006

Trinidad Draft Constitution

Jeremy Taylor over at his blog makes some important comments regarding the future political landscape of Trinidad and Tobago.

"Last week, prime minister Patrick Manning presented Trinidad and Tobago's parliament with a new draft constitution. A discussion document, he said, though it's one he clearly wants to move quickly on, with a government "Green Paper" ready by the end of the year.

So far there hasn't been much public reaction, or even much public interest. But there are some very strange things in this draft, which would have the effect of increasing the power of the country's political leader at the expense of the judiciary and the parliament. Since the parliament long ago conceded its power to the political directorate, and the judiciary's standing and independence have already been severely eroded by two governments, this new constitution is not an encouraging prospect."

read more here

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