TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 1

Transcription

1 441 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 1 I. General Information Trinidad and Tobago is comprised of two islands with a total area of 5,128 km 2. According to ECLAC, in 2005 the country had approximately 135,000 inhabitants, 2 up 1.5% from 2000, with a further 1.4% increase expected by the year ECLAC also reports that 76.2% of the population lives in urban areas, 3 and provides the following age group distribution for 2005: 21.5% of the population was between the ages of 0 and 14; 37.1% between 15 and 34; 20.8% between 35 and 49; 13.2% between the ages of 50 and 64; and 7.4% of the population was over the age of 65. The UNDP Human Development Report states that between 1990 and 2003, 21% of the population of Trinidad and Tobago was living in poverty. 4 The country is ranked 57th on the Human Development Index, in the high range. 5 During the second quarter of 2006, the unemployment rate was 7.2%. 6 In 2005, 1.2% of adults over the age of 15 were illiterate. 7 The country s GDP was US$13.6 million in 2005, which represents a rise of 102.9% over Per capita GDP was US$10,440 in 2005, up 99.6% over The 2004 per capita GDP (rated for purchasing power parity) was US$12, II. Judicial System Highlights A total of 92,626 cases were filed in the country s courts in 2003 and 2004, resulting in a rate of 7,125 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. During that period, 89,679 of these cases were resolved, or 96.81%. The judicial system collected US$8,088,225 through court fees in The country s Family Court was inaugurated by the Chief Justice on May 12, In 2005, there were approximately 7,000 police officers in Trinidad and Tobago, or per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2005, the Prison held approximately 650 inmates, and had an overcrowding rate of 160%. That year, there were 49.8 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2006, it took 1,340 days to enforce the terms of a contract from filing to receipt of payment. III. Institutions 1. Overall Structure and Operation of the Judicial System The country s judicial system is composed of the Judicial Branch, Attorney General s Office, Director of Public Prosecutions, Police, the Legal Advice and Services Center, and the Ombudsman s Office. Trinidad and Tobago is a member state of CARICOM and the British Commonwealth of Nations. It has a common law legal system that is adversarial in nature. The highest court of appeal is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in the U.K.), pending constitutional changes needed to make the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice the final instance. 2. Judicial Branch 2.1. Institutional Structure The Judicial Branch is composed of the Supreme Court, which includes the Court of Appeal with unlimited jurisdiction over appeals of criminal and civil matters from all of the country s courts, and the High Court, which has unlimited jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters. The country has local Magistrates Courts, which have limited jurisdiction to hear and resolve minor cases related to criminal, civil, and young offender laws. Small claims civil cases valued at less than US$ 15,000 and criminal cases involving summary proceedings and preliminary 1 This report is based on the Introduction to CARICOM presented in this Report; the Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas ; the Annual Report of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago; Country Reports on Human Rights Practices , published by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the United States; the World Bank report Doing Business, 2006; and information gathered via Internet. We would like to extend special thanks to Paula Pierre, Registrar and Chief Marshall of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

2 442 Trinidad and Tobago investigations of indictable matters are handled by the Magistrates jurisdiction. 12 A Family Court was introduced in 2004 to resolve disputes relating to family and minors cases. This agency provides prevention and counseling services and is governed by the Family Proceedings Rules of The Court s design and the services that it provides reflect its mandates. For example, matters are presented in meeting rooms, not courts; parties are referred to social services and/or mediation; and there are special waiting areas for minors whose parents are attending a session or meeting Government and Management 14 Some of the functions of Judicial Branch government and management are handled by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, which appoints Magistracy judges and offers advice regarding the appointment of judges to the High Court and Court of Appeal. In addition, the Supreme Court s Department of Court Administration is responsible for the Court docket and administrative support as well as other matters Legal Aid The Legal Aid and Advice Act of 1976 established this body, which provides legal aid to individuals with low or mid-level incomes. Attorneys appointed by the Authority provide professional legal counsel to these individuals before the courts Case Volume and Movement 15 A total of 92,626 cases came before the courts of Trinidad and Tobago in , representing a rate of 7,125 per 100,000 inhabitants. 16 During the same period, 89,679 matters were resolved, a case clearance rate of 96.81% Court of Appeal 17 A total of 572 cases were filed before this court during the term, of which 39.5% originated in the High Court and 60.5% in the magistrates courts. This represented an overall decrease of 30.4% over the period. While appeals from the High Court increased by 16%, there was 45% decrease in appeals from the Magistrates Courts. Of the civil appeals disposed during this period, 65% were dismissed, 22% were allowed and 13% were withdrawn. Meanwhile, 83% of criminal appeals were dismissed, and 17% were allowed. Among Magistracy appeals, 79% were dismissed, 17% allowed, 2.3% were withdrawn, and 1.8% struck. A clearance rate greater than 100% is indicative of the court s ability to dispose of more cases than it receives during a given period, which reduces the number of cases pending from previous periods. Over the past six years sustained efforts have been made to reduce the backlog of cases pending, allowing the Court of Appeal to improve from a negative clearance rate of 61.5% in to a clearance rate of 101.9% in Table 1 Appeals Filed by Court and Subject Matter Year Total Total Appeals from High Court Criminal Civil Total Capital Non Capital Total Appeals from Magistrates Court of Appeal (P.O.S.) Court of Appeal (S'DO) Court of Appeal (Tobago)

3 443 Table 2 Annual Clearance Rates for Criminal Cases / Year Cases Cases Clearance Filed Disposed Rate Annual average (6 years) % % % % % % % Source: Annual Report , Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago High Court 18 There was a 20% decrease in the number of criminal incidents filed in the High Court in compared to the previous period. Of these, 16% represented indictments for capital offenses and 84% involved indictments for noncapital offenses. The 116.4% average annual clearance rate (for and ) demonstrates that efforts to reduce backlog have begun to work. Of the 208 matters disposed in the Criminal Court, 46 (22.1%), were filed and disposed during Most of these matters (115 or 55.3%) were filed in and disposed within two years. Thirty cases (14.4%), were filed in and disposed within three years. Nine (4.3%) were filed in and disposed within four years. Information on the remaining eight matters (3.9%) disposed showed that they were all filed prior to the year In the High Court Civil Division, the number of filings increased by 46.4% from a total of 4,224 in to 6,185 in During the latter period, cases for commercial, personal action and land matters accounted for 85.4% of all those filed, with the remaining 14.6% being cases of public law, family, probate and cooperative accounting. The Civil Registry was the High Court area that generated the most activity. Although measures for speedy disposal of cases continue, the system faces an everincreasing volume of cases filed and has been unable to keep up with the number of cases filed for the past six years. The negative annual clearance rate of 43% is indicative of this period, where annual rates are far below 100%. Of the 2,388 matters disposed in , 20.8% were filed and disposed in the current year, 22.9% were filed in and disposed within two years, and 14.8% took three years to be disposed. Notably, 21.8% took at least seven years to be disposed. Table 4 Annual Case Clearance Rates for Civil Suits in the High Court for 1998/9 2003/4 Year Cases Filed Cases Disposed Rate Average Annual Rate (for 6 years) % % % % % % ,8% Source: Annual Report , Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago. Table 3 Criminal Cases Resolved in High Court Year Total Admissions of Guilt Findings of Guilty Findings of Not Guilty Cases Dismissed Source: Annual Report , Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago.

4 444 Trinidad and Tobago Magistracy 19 The annual number of cases filed and disposed in Trinidad and Tobago s magistrates courts over the past six years ranged from 59,000 to 80,000. During this period, filings increased by 31.9% and disposals by 34.5%. In the past year 79,258 new cases were filed in this court, 7.1% more than the 74,027 cases filed in A total of 79,925 cases were resolved in these courts in Table 5 New Cases Filed and Disposed 1998/9 2003/4 Year Cases Filed Cases Disposed ,258 79, ,027 78, ,189 90, ,432 86, ,992 69, ,084 59,416 Source: Annual Report , Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago Family Court 20 (High Court and Magistrates Courts) A total of 260 matters were filed with the High Court s Family jurisdiction between May and July of Of these, 83% involved divorce, 5% paternity, and 4% were related to guardianship. Direction Hearings were held for 118 matters (45%). During that same period, 785 matters were filed in the Magistrates Court family jurisdiction. Of these, 48% were related to child maintenance, 18% to child custody and 10% to domestic violence. 43% of the matters filed were heard and 393 decisions were made (in some cases more than one action was taken per matter). The disposal rates for this court are indicative of the array of dispute resolution alternatives that it offers. Of the 785 matters filed, 57% were heard and adjourned, 19% were referred to the Social Services Unit, 7% were referred for mediation, and 9% went to negotiation. 3. Ministry of the Attorney General The Ministry of the Attorney General is the Executive Branch agency responsible for representing the government legally, providing counsel on legislative matters, and providing legal advice to government offices and departments. The Attorney General is appointed by the President with the consensus of the Prime Minister. His or her responsibilities include providing legal advice to the Cabinet, ministries, government agencies and departments in international and local matters; engaging in criminal prosecution on behalf of the State; representing the State in civil matters; reviewing and developing bills of law and reforms; and facilitating communications between the Executive and Legislative Branches. 4. Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an independent institution established by the Constitution under the authority of the Chief Justice. Trinidad and Tobago s Constitution empowers the Director to act in virtually all criminal matters in all instances. 5. Police 21 The police force is responsible for national security and is directed by the Police Commissioner. It is under the purview of the Ministry of National Security and is divided into nine different units that include 17 specialized groups. In 2005, there were approximately 7,000 police officers, or per 100,000 inhabitants in Trinidad and Tobago. The Commissioner is appointed by the Police Service Commission in consultation with the Prime Minister. The municipal police, which are governed by each of those 14 regional administrative bodies, complements the efforts of other agencies. A Special Anti-Crime Unit composed of police and Defense Forces personnel carries out operations to combat violent crime, kidnapping and other security problems. The Police Complaints Authority receives complaints about officers performance and forwards them to the Police Service Complaints Division for investigation. It also monitors investigations and disciplinary measures initiated by the Complaints Division.

5 Legal Aid and Advice Center This institution was established through the Legal Aid and Advice Act of Its purpose is to offer legal aid to low or middle-income individuals through court representation by legal officers working in the justice system. 7. Ombudsman The Ombudsman is appointed by the President. The Ombudsman s Office is staffed by the office holder, an executive officer, a legal officer, six investigators, a communications officer, and secretarial and administrative staff. It is responsible for carrying out tasks such as the investigation of complaints of unfairness, abuse and delays against government institutions and departments. IV. Criminal Procedure 1. Description Criminal procedures are adversarial and based on the principles of immediacy and the use of oral procedures. 2. Prison System 22 In 2005, there were overcrowding problems in the prisons of Trinidad and Tobago. Specifically, in the Prison, 650 inmates are housed in buildings with a holding capacity of 250. The overcrowding rate overall in the country s prisons was 160% and there were 49.8 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants. There is a separate prison for women and the conditions there generally meet international standards. Youths between the ages of 15 and 19 are held at the Youth Training Center, and younger children go to the Boys Industrial School. Individuals held in pretrial custody are separated from the rest of the prison population, though not necessarily in a separate building. 3. Crime Rates In 2001 there was a total of 15,722 crimes reported in Trinidad and Tobago, according to Interpol s International Crime Statistics. This source also indicated that 26.6% of cases were solved. The most common crime was theft of all types, followed by aggravated theft, robbery and violent theft, breaking and entering, car theft, and others. 23 Table 6 Crime Rates by Type and per 100,000 Inhabitants, Type of Crime No. of Cases % Pending % Resolved Crime rate per Reported to the Police 100,000 inhabitants Murders Sex crimes (including rape) Rape Serious assault Thefts (all types of theft) 12, Aggravated theft 9, Robberies and violent theft 4, Breaking and entering 5, Car theft 1, Other theft 1, Fraud Counterfeit currency offenses Drug offenses Total 15, , Source: INTERPOL, International Crime Statistics

6 446 Trinidad and Tobago V. Civil Procedures Civil procedures are adversarial and are based on the principle of immediacy and the use of oral procedures. According to data from the World Bank annual report on contract enforcement for 2006, in Trinidad and Tobago the average delay in resolving a dispute over a contract from the time the suit is filed until payment is received- is 1,340 days. There are 37 required procedures involved and the cost of the procedure is around 30.5% of the debt value. 24 VI. Legal Profession The legal profession (education and bar association) of Trinidad and Tobago is the same as that in other Caribbean states with a common law tradition that are members of the Commonwealth. VII. Reform Projects The Judicial Branch has implemented jurisdictional and administrative reforms, the former in the Supreme Court, where civil procedures were completely overhauled. This reform included the introduction of case management, case management conferences, and alternative dispute resolution. The latter reforms include the adoption of the Judicial Enforcement Management System (JEMS), which was introduced in Jamaica and Barbados and in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. It is the main tool used for managing case flow and related information, and includes an ongoing process of optimization and development. Also, the Caribbean Court of Justice and Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission were introduced and headquartered in, Trinidad and Tobago. However the constitutional changes needed to make the final court of appeal the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice are still pending. VIII. Websites The Supreme Court of Judicature This official website provides access institutional information, such as the mission, structure, judicial appointments, judge s directory, and the location of the Supreme Court and magistrates courts. It also includes documents on the operation and organization of the Department of Court Administration, the Law Library, and the Law Education Institute, as well as speeches, reports, and related information. Available only in English. Government of Trinidad and Tobago Information on the country, government institution and basic legal procedures. IX. Directory The Supreme Court of Judicature of Trinidad and Tobago Hall of Justice, Knox Street Phone: (868) Fax: (868) Ministry of the Attorney General Cabildo Chambers, St. Vincent Street Phone: (868) Fax: (868) Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions 137 Henry Street Phone: (868) Fax: (868) The Legal Aid and Advisory Authority Corner Oxford and St. Vincent Streets Phone: (868) / Fax: (868) The Ombudsman of Trinidad and Tobago 132 Henry Street, P.O. Box 886 Phone: (868) Fax: (868) Notes 2 ECLAC, Social Panorama of Latin America, ECLAC, Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean UNDP, Human Development Report The UNDP s Human Development Index classifies countries into three groups: high human development (rating of 0.8 or over), medium human development (rating of between 0.5 and 0.8) and low human development (rating of 0.5 or less). According to the

7 version of the Human Development Report, 63 countries qualify for the first group, 83 for the second, and 31 for the third. See 6 Central Statistics Office of the Ministry of Planning & Development. See 7 ECLAC, Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean World Bank, World Development Indicators. See devdata.worldbank.org/data-query 9 Ibid. 10 UNDP, Human Development Report, op. cit. 11 JSCA, Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas See 13 JRTT, Annual Report, , p See 15 This point is based on the Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas, , op. cit Ibid U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Country Reports on Human Rights Practices JSCA, Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas, World Bank See ExploreTopics/EnforcingContracts/