‘Nobody can dictate to judges’

The head of the judiciary took a swipe at Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Delroy Chuck yesterday, saying nobody – “regardless of the office they hold” – can “dictate” to judges how the law should be interpreted. Chief Justice Bryan Sykes made the comments a day after Chuck asserted that some judges appeared to be misinterpreting the Child Diversion Act by compelling minors charged with certain crimes to enter a plea of guilty before they are directed to a diversion programme offered by the Government.