Cut all colonial ties, including use of the Privy Council as this country’s final court of appeal.
The suggestion was among many made on Tuesday night by citizens at the Sangre Grande Civic Centre who participated in the first public consultation of the National Advisory Committee on Constitutional Reform.
Members of the committee, including former House speaker Barendra Sinanan, SC; Winston Rudder (Public Service Commission chairman); Raye Sandy (former Tobago House of Assembly chief administrator); Nizam Mohammed (attorney and former speaker of the House); Dr Terrence Farrell (attorney and former Central Bank deputy governor), made their way to the centre, located off Foster Road, on Tuesday night to hear suggestions and to engage with citizens.
Among the issues raised were powers of the police and judges, penalties needed for law enforcement officers who abuse their powers, limitations on music that can potentially influence young persons in a negative manner, suggestions about traffic management, and further rules to govern the behaviour of taxi-drivers and private-hire (PH) taxies.
One of the suggestions that got the loudest applause from those gathered at the centre was from a woman who suggested that the Constitution needed a heavy focus on making the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) its final Court of Appeal.
Additionally, the woman made specific mention of ensuring that the savings clause, which has been in this country’s Constitution since 1962, is removed.
The savings clause, the term given to a series of laws enshrined in the constitutions of former British colonies, protects pre-Independence laws from being overturned on the basis that such laws affect the fundamental human rights of citizens.
It was inserted into the Independence constitutions of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, The Bahamas, Belize, and Barbados. The constitutions of these states all contained this clause that essentially protected all pre-independence or colonial laws from constitutional challenge. Colonial laws were immunised from any constitutional challenge irrespective of how damaging they were, or turned out ultimately to be, to the enjoyment by a citizen of their fundamental rights. And even though this country attained republic status in 1976, the clause remained.
On Tuesday night, it was pointed out that this provision of the Constitution was “problematic” as it prevented this country and the Constitution from being progressive. It was even suggested that it could potentially be used as a scapegoat for conservative politicians to hide behind.
An example of the savings clause is the continued existence of a mandatory death penalty in this country.
In 2022, the Privy Council ruled that the mandatory sentence of death for murder in Trinidad and Tobago is constitutional, and only Parliament can reform and update the laws. In the view of the law lords, the 1976 Constitution saves existing laws, including the mandatory death penalty, from constitutional challenge.
Citizens at Tuesday’s forum also made recommendations for stiffer penalties for reports of criminal activities, with one man even suggesting that repeat offenders should be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for simply pointing a weapon at law-abiding citizens.
“Drastic changes are needed if we are to deal with crime,” the man said.
Promising meeting
Speaking with the Express following Tuesday’s meeting, Sinanan described Tuesday’s turnout as “fantastic” and “promising”.
“The public participation, in terms of contributions and questions, was very exciting and very involved, and I think people are getting a sense of becoming interested in the Constitution and the exercise which is being undertaken.
“We are hoping for the widest public participation and are urging people to come out and express their views. Tell us what they find wrong about the Constitution and existing circumstances, and give us their suggestions for improvement. From that, we will collate and come up with the necessary terms of reference for June,” Sinanan said.
Farrell was also thankful for those who turned out and hoped to see more persons coming out at the other meetings that would be held over the next few days.
He said he was also impressed by the number of young persons who turned out to the event.
“The turnout was good and the interaction from the audience was appreciated. They gave us a lot of food for thought and raised several concerns. A lot of the concerns were local, but in most cases, it can be tied back to the institutions of the Constitution itself, so it was good to see where people were and how they were approaching this issue,” Farrell said.
In January, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced the committee would be appointed to formulate the terms of reference and collect views from the public on constitutional reform. The team is also expected to make recommendations for a national consultation later this year.
The next community outreach meeting was held last night at the Point Fortin Borough Corporation auditorium in Mahaica.
