MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS Statement made by Mr. Ramesh L. Maharaj S.C. on the 21st January, 2015 1. It would be noticed that the impugned actions in respect of which the Municipal Police Officers had to resort to Court action in order to get justice started under a different administration. The facts show however that when this administration took office the appeal of the government was pursued by the present Attorney General. The facts also show that in 2011 the Court of Appeal made an order requiring the government to make Regulations in order to stop the injustice against Municipal Police Officers. From 2011 to 2014 when the case was heard before the Privy Council no Regulations were made although the Court of Appeal ordered the government to make the Regulations within 6 months from 2011. The facts also show that after the Privy Council heard this appeal the Attorney General through his Counsel tried to satisfy the Privy Council that he was making efforts over the years to make the Regulations and the Privy Council found that there was no evidence to show this. The Attorney General then drafter Regulations and sent to the Privy Council through his Counsel. The Privy Council found that those Regulations were deficient. The Attorney General then agreed through his Counsel that the Regulations were deficient and that he would have to introduce legislation in Parliament to correct the deficiencies. 2. The Privy Council in this case and in its judgment raises an important issue, namely, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service operates with regulated service Regulations but the Municipal Police Service was not so operated. This judgment must now cause the government and the police service to consider whether all police officers within the employ with the State ought to be regulated and ought to be treated equally. We cannot have police officers who perform coercive duties of arrest and affecting the enjoyment of property not operating under Regulations. Further, we cannot have police officers experiencing ad hoc promotions – unfairness, inequality of treatment and arbitrariness. There is urgent action to have an overhaul of policing in Trinidad and Tobago and to consider how best to have this service regulated. 3. This morning 153 Municipal Police Officers in a landmark judgment delivered by the Privy Council reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal and it gave the Municipal Police Officers victory in their law suit filed against the State. They won their appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal which decided that they were not entitled to an award of damages for the violation by the government of their Constitutional rights. The Court of Appeal instead made a declaration that their rights were infringed by the government an also made an order compelling the government to make the Regulations which were required to be made in their favour under the Municipal Police Act and Statutory Authorities Act. The High Court had ordered the Municipal Police Officers to get compensation but dismissed their application to receive aggravated damages. The Municipal Police Officers contended in their claim that the failure of the government to make these Regulations denied them equality before the law and protection of the law which are guaranteed fundamental rights in the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago. The Constitution provides that an aggrieved individual whose Constitutional rights were infringed is entitled to obtain redress from the Court. 4. The Municipal Police Officers in their constitutional claim in the High Court obtained an order for compensatory damages but the High Court refused to make an order for aggravated damages. The Court of Appeal decided that the High Court was wrong in that compensatory damages would be difficult to assess and it instead made a declaration that their rights were violated but it decided that the more appropriate order to make was an order compelling the government the make the Regulations. The Privy Council in its judgment decided and showed that since 1876 until the present time the fact that damages were difficult to assess and may be speculative did not prevent the Court from assessing damages. 5. The Privy Council found that the Court of Appeal erred in law and it set aside the order of the Court of Appeal.

• published: 22 Jan 2015
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