A press statement from the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Chambers on Tuesday said President Irfaan Ali will be swearing in members of the Judicial, Teaching, and Public Procurement Commissions on Friday July 1 2022. The Judicial Service Commission has not be reconstituted since 2017 and the Government since assuming office in August 2022, committed to reconstituting this commission which is responsible for making recommendations for judicial appointments and exercising disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in judicial offices. The Teaching Service Commission (TSC) has a mandate to appoint, exercise disciplinary actions, and remove teachers of non-board schools. Meanwhile, the Public Procurement Commission's (PPC) responsibilities include monitoring and the review of functions of all public procurement systems to ensure they are in accordance with law. The Head of State must have meaningful consultations with the Leader of the Opposition before members are appointed to these constitutional bodies. On May 14, 2022, President Irfaan Ali met with Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton to begin talks on the appointments for these commissions. The Head of State then invited the Opposition Leader to another meeting where he was a no show. Norton failed to indicate his absence from the meeting beforehand but stated that his reason for absence was he had a 'pressing schedule'.
The Head of State had labelled Norton’s behaviour as unwilling and immature. The statement from the Attorney General's chambers on Tuesday noted that all constitutional and legal requirements were complied with and as such the members will be sworn in.
