The High Court will hear clarification case brought by Attorney General against the Tobago House of Assembly on the THA Act as well the Intergrity in Public Life Act Chapter 22:01.
The Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs advises that the Court of Appeal, today, unanimously dismissed appeals brought against the High Court’s refusal in April 2022 to strike out, as academic, the Attorney General’s action seeking the High Court’s interpretation of the Tobago House of Assembly Act, Chapter 25:03 (the Act).
A media release issued by the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, states that the unsuccessful appeals were brought by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Mr. Watson Duke and Mr. Farley Augustine.
The circumstances giving rise to these civil proceedings surrounded the then appointment of Mr. Watson Duke on, December 9, 2021, as Deputy Chief Secretary of the THA and a member of the Executive Council of the Assembly, whilst he was at the same time serving as Chairman of the Public Services Association (PSA) and a member of the Registration, Recognition and Certification Board (RRCB), for which he was in receipt of remuneration.
The Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs filed the proceedings in the High Court in December 2021, seeking clarification of the law in the THA Act as well as the Integrity in Public Life Act, Chapter 22:01, regarding the prohibition against a Secretary of the THA and a person in public life engaging in activities which would be in conflict with his duties as a Secretary.
The Court of Appeal directed that the Attorney General’s civil action be remitted to the High Court for further adjudication and case management.
The Attorney General is pleased with the decisions of the Court of Appeal.
The determination now of the questions posed to the High Court will redound to the good of the citizenry of Trinidad and Tobago, and is consistent with the public interest of clarity of law.
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