(Trinidad Guardian) The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has partially dismissed a discrimination case brought by a group of citizens and institutions from Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada against the Government of Trinidad.
In the case, the group’s members are claiming that the Government discriminated against them when it decided to bail out CL Financial (CLF) and its local subsidiaries Colonial Life Insurance Company (Trinidad) Limited (Clico), Clico Investment Bank (CIB), and British American Insurance Company (Trinidad) Limited (BAT) in 2009.
They claimed that the Government, through the Central Bank, took active steps to exclude CLF’s Bahamas-based subsidiary British American Insurance Company Limited (BAICO), of which they are policyholders, from the bailout.
They alleged that while local policyholders were protected and essentially guaranteed their full investments, they were only able to recoup approximately 14 per cent through the liquidation of the regional subsidiary.
They contended that the action amounted to discrimination on the ground of nationality and was in breach of Article 7 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC).
They further contended that the action also breached Articles 36 and 184(1)(j) of the RTC, which deals with the cross-border provision of services and measures taken by member states to provide redress for regional consumers.
Delivering a preliminary decision in the case, on Wednesday CCJ President Adrian Saunders and Judges Winston Anderson, Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Andrew Burgess, and Peter Jamadar dismissed the first aspect of the case while allowing the group to continue to pursue the latter.
Justice Anderson, who delivered the panel’s executive summary in the absence of Justice Saunders who was on an official overseas trip, explained that in considering the group’s first claim the panel had to decide whether the government’s actions were done on a commercial basis.
It ruled that it was not.
“There was no suggestion that either the Government of T&T, the Ministry of Finance, or the Central Bank of T&T when making the relevant decisions, assuming control of Clico and BAT and taking control of CLF’s assets in exchange for liquidity support were doing so on a profit-making basis or for the purpose of participating and seeking superiority or supremacy in the single market alongside or against economic enterprises with the Defendant or within the Member States,” he said.
He ruled that the action could be considered as the member state exercising governmental authority and fell outside the ambit of Article 7.
However, he and his colleagues ruled that the group members could still pursue their second ground of challenge.
The remaining case is scheduled to come up for hearing later this month.
In 2017, the Government successfully petitioned High Court Judge Kelvin Ramcharan to liquidate CLF to clear the remainder of the debt that it incurred in rescuing the cash-strapped conglomerate. The process is still ongoing.
In December, last year, the Central Bank relinquished emergency control of Clico.
The group was represented by Simon Davenport, KC, Kenny Anthony, Robert Strang, Gregory Pantin, Matthew Happold, George Kirnon, and Miguel Vasquez.
The State was represented by Deborah Peake, SC, Tamara Toolsie, Brent James, and Murvani Ojah-Maharaj.
