Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has said she has no issue with Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh’s competence as a lawyer, but remains critical of how his appointment as Chief Justice was handled.

“I don’t think anybody disputes that Chief Justice Boodoosingh is competent,” Beckles told the media outside of the Parliament. “He has been a teacher at the University of the West Indies, teaching ethics.

That’s not the issue. The issue is that I gave very clearly the timeframe… 6:30 in the evening while I was in Parliament to bring a letter that had some errors, 8:30 in the morning to deal with that error, and then two o’clock you appoint. That is not sufficient consultation.”

Earlier this week, she described the correspondence she received as “materially deficient,” saying it lacked key information such as the résumés and seniority of eligible Court of Appeal judges. She also argued she was not given enough time to “give intelligent consideration and an intelligent response” in her constitutional role as Opposition Leader.