COMMISSIONERS of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the catastrophic Georgetown Prison riots on March 2 and 3 said the conduct of Guyana Bar Association President Christopher Ram reflects the lowest point of the legal profession, and practitioners now display “gutter” mannerisms in the Courts of law and Courts of Inquiry.According to a press statement signed by Chairman of the CoI, Justice James Patterson (retd), “Mr Christopher Ram’s conduct, widely reported in the press, reflects the very nadir of ethical display in the practise of what has always been known as ‘the noble profession’.”

The statement said the commissioners have been caught in the crossfire of attorneys’ regular fierce contentions before the Commission, and have, “on a regular basis, incurred the wrath of both counsel, that is to say, Christopher Ram and Selwyn Pieters, as each pressed their clients’ case with understandable vigour.”

However, the statement said, “Liberties were taken. Mr Selwyn Pieters, Counsel for the Joint Services and Fire Service, was ferried away by his enthusiasm, and made statements which, by any objective view, constitute a breach in civility and an affront to the Commission.”

The commissioners also noted that Pieters was profuse in his apologies, which were unconditional and well received by the commission.

However, the statement said, “Mr Christopher Ram, on the other hand, who appeared for the Bar Association as an interested party, obtained ‘good standing’ from the Commission to conduct his brief.  Mr Christopher Ram was equally fierce on behalf of his clients, an amorphous lot though they be. The commission has been unusually charitable to Mr Christopher Ram…. His appearance has been pro bono for the public good, and such appearances are clearly to be commended…. Mr Christopher Ram, however, routinely displayed a degree of petulance when his extravagant demands were disallowed.”

The Commission said Ram’s unwillingness to abide by the rulings of the Chairman has become routine and is outrageous, with Ram automatically reflecting his displeasure “by displaying the tantrums of a five-year-old who cannot get his own way on the ball field. This he did on the 20th (April), 2016 ultima by throwing tantrums and slamming the door to the CoI Hearings Room, and made off with his bat and ball because he was not allowed to bat first.

“That degree of petulance and disrespect I have not seen in nearly 50 years of practice since called to the English Bar,” Justice Patterson stated.

Other commissioners on the panel are former Director of Prisons Dale Erskine and Human Rights activist Merle Mendonca. (Shauna Jemmott)