Criminal offence

Mr Fay, of ABVI Law, is also of the view that the lawyers should not be made to continue practicing law in the VI, having already breached the Legal Profession Act, 2015, which is a criminal offense and makes them each liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars and to a further fine of one thousand dollars for every day on which the offense continues after the conviction of the person.

The Queen’s Counsel, who was admitted to the BVI Bar since 1996 and is a former Vice-President of the BVI Bar Association, formally lodged a complaint regarding the issues to the CoI via a letter to CoI Secretary Steven Chandler since June 23, 2021.

According to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by our newsroom, the CoI lawyers appear to be practising law in the Virgin Islands and are doing so in breach of sections 15 and 18 of the Legal Profession Act, 2015.

CoI trio ‘wilfully pretending to be legal practitioners’

He said the CoI lawyers, namely Bilal M. Rawat, Andrew King and Rhea Harrikissoon, appear to be willfully pretending to be legal practitioners and that they appear to make use of the words Counsel and Solicitor so as to imply that they are entitled to be recognised or to act as legal practitioners.

When the law firm representing House of Assembly Members who are not ministers, Silk Legal, during a CoI hearing in June 2021, had asked Commissioner of the CoI, Mr Gary R. Hickinbottom, whether his legal team had been admitted to the BVI Bar to practice law in the VI in keeping with Section 18 of the Legal Profession Act, 2015, Hickinbottom said the lawyers were not required to be admitted to the BVI Bar in order to carry out their duties for the CoI.

The Commissioner; however, directed that the three lawyers make an application to be admitted to the BVI Bar. King and Harrikissoon subsequently filed an application to be admitted to the Bar.

Lawyers continued working for CoI despite in breach

In Mr Fay’s letter to the CoI, he highlighted that despite the breach of the Legal Profession Act being notified to the CoI lawyers and the CoI at a hearing on June 14, 2021, all three CoI Lawyers appeared to have continued to practise law in the territory, “to have continued to willfully pretend to be legal practitioners, and/or to have made use of the words Counsel and Solicitor so as to imply that they are entitled to be recognised or to act as legal practitioners.”

He noted that King and Harrikissoon made an urgent application on June 15, 2021, to be admitted to the BVI Bar, but continued to act pending the hearing of the application.

‘Arrogance’ by lawyers ‘breathtaking’- Fay

Further, Mr Fay said he was “very surprised” to learn, that as later as June 24, 2021, the CoI lawyers were not admitted to the BVI Bar.

“I have practised in the Territory since 1996 and have observed innumerable English qualified lawyers come to the Territory to practise – whether on a permanent basis or for the purposes of a single case. On no occasion do I recall such a lawyer attempting to practise here without firstly being admitted. It is unfathomable to me that an English lawyer would come to the Territory and commence practise here without firstly being admitted to the Roll in the Territory.

“The arrogance evidenced by the failure of the CoI lawyers to seek admission to the Roll is breath-taking.”

CoI should treat concerns with ‘urgency’

Mr Fay told the CoI Secretary that he hopes the Commission is as concerned as he is about the facts giving rise to his complaint, and that he will take appropriate steps to ensure that the CoI is no longer tainted by the conduct of the lawyers in breach of the Legal Profession Act.

“You will appreciate that given the likely continuing breach of the LPA, and the consequent likely continuing criminal activity by the CoI lawyers, there is some urgency in dealing with this complaint.

“I trust that you will agree with the learned Judge in Summer Fame that breaches of the LPA [Legal Professions Act] are serious, and that they affect the administration of justice in this Territory. In the particular circumstances of the appointment of the CoI, and the remit of its inquiry, the question of whether its lawyers are in breach of sections 15 and 18 of the LPA is very concerning. No doubt you will consider whether you and/or the Commissioner should be reporting the prima facie breaches to the DPP and/or the Chief of Police,” Mr Fay stated.

CoI resumes hearing Sept 6, 2021

Meanwhile, as soon as the lawyers filed an application to be admitted to the BVI Bar, House of Assembly Speaker Hon Julian Willock and the Deputy Speaker of the HoA, Hon Neville A. Smith (AL) objected to their applications on the basis that the Applicants have been practising law in the Virgin Islands since March 2021, in breach of the Legal Profession Act, 2015.

The CoI, in their arguments against the objection, raised the issue as to whether the Speaker and Deputy Speaker had standing to make an objection; however, the High Court ruled they did have standing and adjourned the matter to October 26, 2021.

The Commission has since announced it will be resuming its hearings on September 6, 2021, but refused to state whether the lawyers in question will continue to work for the CoI.

Andrew King, left, and Bilal M. Rawat, right, are two of the three lawyers currently assisting the UK-sponsored Virgin Islands (VI) Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and have been accused of practicing law in the territory while not being called to the BVI Bar, a violation of the Legal Professions Act 2015.

Commissioner of the CoI, Mr Gary R. Hickinbottom had said the CoI lawyers were not required to be admitted to the BVI Bar in order to carry out their duties; however, he directed them to make an application to be admitted.

House of Assembly Speaker Hon Julian Willock, right, and the Deputy Speaker of the HoA, Hon Neville A. Smith (AL), left, have objected to the applications of the CoI lawyers to be admitted to the BVI Bar on the basis that the Applicants have been practising law in the Virgin Islands since March 2021, in breach of the Legal Profession Act, 2015.