He didn’t renew Hawke’s contract

BELIZE CITY, Fri. Dec. 14, 2018– The word has been circulating around judicial circles for several weeks now that Solicitor General Nigel Hawke has been let go by Attorney General, Michael Peyrefitte, with only a short time remaining on his contract.

As we understand it, Hawke’s contract was scheduled to expire at the end of December, but Peyrefitte has opted not to renew it, thus putting Hawke out to pasture.

In a media interview today, Friday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow confirmed that Hawke was let go by AG Peyrefitte, who did not renew his employment contract.

Here’s the Prime Minister’s response to the question about Hawke’s contract:

“The Attorney General, who in fact made the recommendation, I think, simply wanted to move on. Mr. Hawke, certainly, in terms of my own interaction with him, has been excellent. In terms of the cases that I have had, not a personal interest in, but a particular interest — the big cases that have gone to the CCJ., his supporting role is all that we could have asked for or more.

“So certainly, on my part, no judgment is to be assumed in consequence of the non-renewal of his contract. For whatever administrative reasons, whatever his sense of what the fit is that he would like, the Attorney General made the recommendation. That is where it stands.

“I think on the part of the Attorney General there is no animus against Mr. Hawke. Really, he is one of the most conscientious, hard-working lawyers that I have known.”

Hawke was acting Solicitor General from 2013 to 2015, then between 2015 and 2016, government hired Anika Jackson as Solicitor General, but she only remained in the post for about one year and Hawke became Solicitor General in 2016.

Hawke will be replaced by Elisa Montalvo, who is presently Deputy Solicitor General.