BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 19, 2018– At a recent meeting of the Belize Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC), which is made up of the Solicitor General, the Chief Justice, the chairman of the Public Services Commission, and the president of the Belize Bar Association, the Chief Justice, Kenneth Benjamin, who chairs the JLSC, asked the recently elected president of the Belize Bar Association, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, to excuse herself from the meeting.

Apart from being the president of the Belize Bar Association, Vidal is also the Director of Public Prosecutions.

It is that position that concerns CJ Benjamin, who appears to think that there is a constitutional conflict for the DPP to be the Bar president, and at the same time sit at JLSC meetings.

The Bar Association has confirmed that an issue has arisen with its president at the JLSC, and the secretary of the Bar has written the JLSC with a view to resolving the issue.

The JLSC deals with appointments and matters relating to the judiciary.