Attorney General Reginald Armour has sought to clarify his statement on whether he met with the Law Association of T&T (LATT) or not.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Armour said he invited LATT to hold discussions on the issue of the 18 attorney who were appointed as senior counsel, and never consulted with them.
Armour noted that under the procedure for selection, he was only required to consult with Chief Justice Ivor Archie before taking the list of applicants to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for his consideration and approval.
He stated that he sought legal advice from a “very learned” senior counsel and was advised that he could also hold discussions with stakeholders of his choosing.
“I chose to speak with the Law Association. That is different from a consultation,” Armour said.
“I disclosed the list to them and invited them to discuss it with me and it so happened that they did not because they chose a different process,” he said.
Following the ceremony to award ‘silk’ to 17 attorneys, Armour, in addressing issues surrounding the selection process, said: “I also spoke to Mrs Seebaran-Suite as LATT president, who, to her credit, recused herself because she was one of the names under consideration. She passed the baton to other senior members of LATT with whom I had discussions.”
However, in a release from LATT, it said: “The LATT accordingly had no discussions whatsoever with the Honourable Attorney General on any applicant or the merits of any application for admission to the rank of senior counsel,” it said.