Kirsty Brimelow QC is one of three UK legal experts on former President Mohamed Nasheed?s legal team. The new government has pursued criminal charges against Nasheed for his decision to detain Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, charges Nasheed contends are a politically-motivated attempt to prevent him from contesting the 2013 Presidential elections.
Brimelow is an experienced criminal law specialist with expertise in international human rights, and has worked in a number of small island states including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago.
JJ Robinson: How much background knowledge did you have on the political situation in the Maldives prior to deciding to join Nasheed?s defence team?
Kirsty Brimelow: Very little other than the usual views of the Maldives as beautiful islands for romantic holidays ? I had never been here before. I had heard about the climate change aspect of Maldives at the time of the Copenhagen summit ? it was something I remember reading about. I thought that it would be terrible if Male? was under water in 20 years.
JJ: How much had you followed the February 2012 transfer of power?
KB: No I hadn?t followed it. When I was contacted [to join Nasheed?s legal team] I looked it all up. I don?t know if it was reported in English newspapers. I don?t remember reading anything about it. At the time the news was dominated by news of Syria and starvation in the world?s youngest democracy, Sudan. I think they dominated the headlines, and the London Olympics more than anything else that was going on.
JJ: What was behind your decision to join Nasheed?s legal team?
KB: As an international lawyer there is a real interest in how rule of law operates in different jurisdictions. In recent years I?ve done a lot of work in small island states ? I am Legal Advisor to the Constitution Commission of Fiji, I worked in Trinidad and Tobago as part of the team defending the chief justice, and was appointed Counsel to a Commmision of Inquiry into a massive international fraud inquiry in Antigua. I have also worked in Jamaica.
I suppose I am interested in the Maldives as a new democracy, and how that struggle is being played out. I am also really interested in the Maldives both as international and human rights lawyer. I have real interest in fairness of procedures and that there are independent and impartial judges. No court system can operate if you have biased judges, or judges who are of a standard such that justice cannot be carried out.
JJ: How much do you know about the Maldivian judiciary and its condition?
KB: I?ve read a couple of reports which have the same conclusion ? that the judiciary is not functioning at a level that can deliver justice. But I read these reports as background ? I have really been concentrating on this specific case.
JJ: The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have made a case on the basis of challenging the legitimacy of the Hulhumale Magistrate Court where Nasheed is being tried, rather than defending the specific charges against him. Do you think this is a good approach, and can you argue that in court: ?I don?t respect your legitimacy, your honour??
KB: There are different arguments going on at the moment. The high court application [regarding the legitimacy of the Hulhumale Court] is a legitimate argument accepted as such by the Attorney General. It is a jurisdictional public law matter now removed from criminal law.
The validity of the jurisdiction of courts is fundamental ? people can?t just set up their own courts because they feel like it, and they can?t just put in who they like as judges of that court. It has to be done in a transparent and independent way in order for the courts to have any respect.
JJ: Why should courts care about the respect of the public?
KB: The general public in any democratic society cares about its justice system because that underpins its democratic society. If you think your justice system is corrupt ? that whatever evidence you have when you?re in court will be ignored because you have a corrupt system ? then that is bad for democracy.
Democracy can?t survive with a corrupt justice system. I think people do care about that. But obviously the select people who want to keep it corrupt, don?t.
JJ: This is the first time there has been foreign legal representation applying to appear in the Criminal Court, as far as I?m aware. Are you allowed in?
KB: At the moment there is apparently a policy that says you have to be Maldivian and/or married to a Maldivian to appear in court. It is very restrictive. It is going to be a matter we are going to challenge.
It obviously depends on the particular country, but most small island states have developed a system where foreign lawyers are able to practice within that system on a case by case basis. For example I have appeared [in court] in the Caribbean. The reason is that the smaller the place the smaller the pool of lawyers, and the bigger the case, the more political difficulties and influences that could be brought to bear on people from that society. So if you bring someone in from outside it can bring the balance back.
It is also a good way to increase knowledge and expertise. For example my knowledge is based on international human rights law, whereas if you are practicing in a small state you don?t have that comfort of being able to specialise. International law is not foreign law ? it is part of the law of the Maldives, and to develop it you need that knowledge running through [the system]. The way you do that is allow international lawyers.
The Maldivian lawyers I?m working with are keen to make the application so that I could represent President Nasheed in court together with them. It would be their application on my behalf.
JJ: Dhivehi can make the country quite inaccessible to outsiders ? to what extent is that a challenge in this case?
KB: Of course it?s a challenge and as to how it would operate [in court], nobody?s ever tried it before. As far as I understand English is widely spoken fluently, and i?m told many Maldivians prefer to speak English. Obviously it would have to be translated in court ? but that happens in many jurisdictions with no difficulty. I don?t see it as meaning that the position would be impossible ? there would have to be systems in place.
JJ: The judges on the panel hearing Nasheed?s trial were appointed by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), and include two of Nasheed?s direct political opponents ? Jumhoree Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim and Speaker of Parliament, Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Shahid. In this environment, and given the politicisation of the case, is it reasonable to expect that Nasheed can have a fair trial at all in the Maldives?
KB: I think at present if the trial were to go ahead in the Hulhumale Court, as presently constituted, there are real issues as to whether there is any chance at all as to whether Nasheed will have a fair trial. There are real issues and real concerns.
JJ: What is the approach then? The MDP has challenged the court?s legitimacy, but what about defending Nasheed?s decision to detain the Chief Judge of the Crimnial Court? Would you advise defending these charges or lean towards challenging the court?s legitimacy?
KB: Nasheed at his recent rally said that based on the evidence served against him, he should be acquitted.
The trial has two aspects: there are real issues as to fairness and those aspects fall into two categories, which relate to the court itself, which will be argued further, and the second aspect relates to the ability of President Nasheed to properly defend himself. I can?t go into details because those submissions have not been made to the trial court.
JJ: How similar are the challenges in the Maldives compared to other small island states?
KB: Each place is very different ? but a common thread is the real difficulty getting a neutral tribunal to consider the evidence. Most countries have a problem where so much is in the newspapers already that people have formed opinions by the time the matter comes to court. In fact the trial is run in the newspaper, usually against the defendant, who isn?t in a position to present his defence in the newspaper as well, so it becomes one-sided and by the time the case comes to court people have the view that the person is guilty.
That would not happen in a larger jurisdiction where there are all sorts of laws to prevent people coming to court with a closed mind. That?s a problem here.
The Maldives has specific problems, such as those documented issues in relation to the judiciary, and those issues are quite extreme and are not found in many other small island states I?ve worked in. Many of those states such as Jamaica have a strong judiciary.
JJ: What would be some of those concerning issues?
KB: I don?t want to be upsetting the trial. I can quote from the reports though. Things like the statistics of those serving in the judiciary with criminal convictions and so on. It must be a concern to a fair minded observer as to what sort of justice is being dispensed if you are appearing before someone with criminal convictions, for example. That kind of thing is what I mean.
JJ: To what extent do you think the trial of Nasheed could be a catalyst for judicial reform in the Maldives?
KB: I think it is an important trial for the Maldives, and it could be a catalyst for reform in that the issues which are being raised are fundamental to a functioning justice system, and they are serious, so it should at the very least trigger debate in parliament in a democratic country.
There has to be a robust system which will regulate judges objectively, so someone coming to court can have faith in the system. If there is no check on judges in terms of their independence and honesty, as well as ability, then the courts just simply become a means of reaching a preordained result that everyone has already predicted.
Then quite simply it is not a justice system ? it is a figleaf. Everything else flows from that ? stability, fairness in terms of elections, parliament; if you?ve got a vacuum in your justice system you quite simply don?t have democracy.
You have to have a robust system to deal with complaints [against the judiciary]. In international law and particularly the Convention of Civil and Political Rights it sets out that privileges and immunities for judges can only go so far, and that they are not meant to stretch to afford protection ?no matter what?.
My interest is in fair trial procedures, and that fair trial rights are upheld. There are real issues in this case, which is why I?m part of the legal team.
Source: http://minivannews.com/politics/qa-kirsty-brimelow-qc-46906
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