Speaker of the House of Assembly Julian Willock has taken the three attorneys of the Commission of Inquiry to Court on the premise of practicing in the BVI without being admitted to the local Bar.
This was revealed during a media conference held on Wednesday August 18, by the Speaker.
He said, “On the tenth hearing day of the Commission of Inquiry, Mr. Richard G. Rowe of Silk Legal inquired of the one-man Commissioner as to whether the lawyers, Bilal Rawat, Andrew King and Rhea Harrikissoon, who are assisting the Commission, were admitted to practice law in the Virgin Islands in keeping with Section 18 of the Legal Professional Act 2015 of the Territory.”
“The one-man Commissioner responded in the negative and further stated that they did not need to be admitted to practice law in the Virgin Islands, in order to carry out their duties. Mr. Hickinbottom, nevertheless, directed that the mentioned persons make an application to be admitted to practice law in the territory,” he added.
Willock further said, “The three Commission of Inquiry Lawyers then file to be admitted to the BVI Bar, however, a few months ago I have instructed the House of Assembly Attorneys, Silk Legal to file an objection on the behalf of myself and the Deputy Speaker, on the basis that the Applicants have been practising law in the Virgin Islands since March 2021, in breach of the Legal Profession Act.”
Court ruled in favour of Willock’s claim
The Speaker then revealed that following the filed objection, the Court ruled in his favour and decided to have a set trial date for October 2021, on the illegality of the attorneys practicing in the BVI, coupled with other queries of which the Speaker did not disclose.
“Their side raised the issue as to whether the Honourable Deputy Speaker and I had standing to make an objection. However, the Court ruled last month that we did have standing and set a trial date for the case in October of this year. We had also raised other concerns, which I am not at liberty to disclose at this point, as the matter is live before the court,” he stated.
Injunction to have the three attorneys discontinue services filed
In addition, Speaker Willock has also filed for an injunction to prevent the three attorneys Bilal Rawat, Andrew King and Rhea Harrikissoon from continuing their COI related duties until a ruling is handed down at the end of the trial which is scheduled for October 2021.
“Furthermore, and bearing in mind that the practice of law is not confined to the courtroom, we have decided to seek a determination from the Court as to whether in BVI law, it is: lawful for lawyers who have not been admitted to practice law in the Virgin Islands, to be appointed to act as barristers and/or solicitors in Commissions of Inquiries, generally; and if it is lawful for lawyers who have not been admitted to practice law in the BVI to carry out legal duties in relation to Commissions of Inquiries, generally,” Willock explained.
He said if the court decides that the two points are not lawful, “there will naturally be consequential orders” which he said he was not at liberty to discuss during the media conference.
Willock said it was important to address this critical matter as the head of the BVI Government’s Legislative Branch, since no one is above the territory’s laws.