Seperation of church and state : Does such a thing exist in Trinbago?

While in today's world separation of church and state is a doctrine bandied about in international politics, does such a concept fully apply to Trinibago and the rest of the Caribbean?


Separation of church and state is not a clear cut thing in Trinidad and most of the commonwealth Caribbean. Our constitution in its preamble says this :
"Whereas the People of Trinidad and Tobago-
(a) have affirmed that the Nation of Trinidad and Tobago is founded
upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God " 

We also have freedom of religion in Section 4 of the constitution

http://www.ttparliament.org/documents/1048.pdf

While this does not imply a theocracy when you contrast the language with the First amendment of the US constitution upon which separation of church and state there is based :
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment

The first amendment is the basis of separation of church and state in the US, Trinbago has no similar provision in its constitution so while we are not a theocracy with an official state religion , we also do not have a strict secular state either.
   The language of the first amendment is very clear and strict : the US government is prohibited at the highest level from dealing in the affairs of religion .
     While  the right to freedom of religion in Trinbago would include 'not making a law to prohibit the free exercise of religion' , the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is free to enact laws and policies that involve religious organizations .
    We see this with the Concordat agreement between denominational religious secondary schools and the state , religious institutions receiving state funds being a defacto norm in that instance.

 You can cite Pastor Cuffie winning a national award for religion as another example of religion being sanctioned to some extent by the state, certain hindu and other religious festivals have recieved state funds in the past as well.

    I think one can safely conclude that Trinidad and Tobago does not have a strict seperation of church and state , we do respect freedom of religion however.

Time to become our neighbour's keeper

Is it time for us to be our brothers keeper? With all the crime going on in our country is it now time to declare a state of emergency in our own lives. When we see something going wrong in our neighborhood or community we should take steps to fix the problem regardless of the other person's pride and 'privacy'.
    Rights come with responsabilites , and if you fail the responsability you do not deserve the right.
   I'v recently heard of a drug addicted mother who abuses her 7 year old son so badly that he often runs away from home at night just by instinct. The boy has scars on his body that are easily visible, he is malnourished and weak ...
    If it were in my neighbourhood i'd have called child protective services on the mother. There are always warning signs before a tradgedy strikes and we must learn to pay attention to them.

Need for greater psychological and spiritual counselling to combat crime in Trinidad

http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,163330.html

Eyewitnesses recalled how the suspect drank Corrion’s blood and threw pieces of her skull and brain at villagers when they tried to disarm him. He bashed her head several times against a concrete bannister. The suspect then went into the house and returned with several $100 bills which he tore up and began eating. Young men in the area told Sunday Newsday that they stoned him, but the suspect then pelted them with “pieces of skull and brains 
     As a religious individual i'd say that man was possessed , a psychologist or psychiatrist would say he suffered from the worst form of psychosis possible. Whether you call it mental illness or spiritual illness society needs help to overcome these issues and prevent them from reoccurring .
        Investments must be placed into counseling from the high school level to teach children to deal with depression and anger issues.  The tertiary education sector is churning out thousands of psychology graduates a year , such graduates should be encouraged to take up counseling as a profession and minister to high school students who need help.
      This is a far, far greater priority than laptops in schools  or any other ministry of education venture.

 

Funding Alternative for GATE?

http://news.barbadostoday.bb/2012/07/13/funding-alternative/

Pointing out that the committee had made slight modifications to the traditional model, Sir Hilary said it was argued that “the State should step back now from the 100 per cent participation where it had been historically … to 85 per cent, which would mean that the 15 per cent within that traditional model will have to be shared across the system by other participants.”

“So, we have come up now with a model where we are asking our student participants to make an injection of the five per cent of the cost of education,” Sir Hilary explained.
      A similar model , if applied to Trinidad and Tobago's Tertiary education model may reap enormous benefits. It has often been complained that the courses and degrees offered in university today have no real world application , or the courses that attempt to help prepare students for the world of work are woefully inadequate.
          Giving business a stake in tertiary education would give the impetus for this to change. Basically the CEO of British Gas Trinidad will be able to call the head of engineering in UWI and cuss him for having a bad syllabus. I'v often heard from my friends and family in the energy sector that UWI grads are woefully unprepared for actual work, and often do serious damage to projects with their naiveté .
         Making students pay 5% of the cost of the degree program will also help give them a sense of responsibility and ownership in what they do. The cost is minimal , 5000-10,000 or so depending on the degree program that can easily be covered by a student loan, but the psychological effect will drastically change the student attitude towards their studies and do more to boost attendance grades and discipline than any academic policy ever will.

Sympathy for Iran

While i deplore Iran's recent political history ,its aggression , its anti semitism and probably support for terrorist groups... Its moves are understandable from their perspective.
      If one follows the work of Noam Chomsky western powers have been manipulating the middle east for over a century, and the Islamic states are fed up of it. They have genuine grievances that has resulted in a hardline position against the west for some states.
      The west knows that the greatest superpower in world history would be  a single islamic power bloc in the middle east . With their oil wealth they would have a stranglehold on the world economy , and their military while 2nd rate compared to the US would still be a regional power.
        The war on terror would also have made the Iranian administration more insecure about their hold on power . To draw a simple analogy :
    If a gang of thugs kills your next door neighbour on your right side and take all his wealth, then the following year kills the neighbour on your left side , isnt it within your right to get weapons to defend yourself against that same gang?
      Afghanistan and Iraq have fallen to US forces very easily , the tenuous part of those wars resulted only during occupation. Guerrilla war is always messy and very hard to fight as seem in Vietnam. In the case of Aghanistan it would probably require 1 million troops to secure the nation , no army in history has ever subdued it.
     Afghanistan and Iraq are Iran's neighbours and US forces could easily cross over into Iran from their bases in those states.  A US carrier fleet in the Persian Gulf could also wipe out Iranian air and naval power in the region within a week. Iran's military might cannot save its administration ,  so the only hope is a nuclear weapon that would make invasion an unattractive target.
     I do believe that Iran simply wants nuclear weapons to reach the status of North Korea as the neighborhood badguy that cannot be touched. US and South Korean forces could wipe out North Korea very quickly - but the risks associated with a messy war and nuclear fallout make that proposition extremely unattractive .
        But i do completely understand  and sympathize with the Iranian position : Either you submit to the will of the Western powers , or you fight to maintain sovereignty and the longevity of your regime

Teaching the government how to negotiate with trade unions

Once again T&T is stricken with another batch of fools who cannot sit around a table and come to a compromise . It doesn't matter how educated or accomplished these fools are - Knowledge is not wisdom. If they cannot put aside their egos for 5 minutes to listen to someone else they cannot lead.
         All the government has to do is find a creative way to give the trade unions what they want . The unions have genuine greivances - the economy is in a mess and it is the State's job to fix it. The unions also have to understand that the government is bound by its fiscal situation and cannot give them exactly as they demand- but they can reach a compromise.
           My solution to the whole crisis is simply this : If the unions ask for a 15% wage increase , give them 20%. But give it to them in untouchable government bonds , stocks and investments not cash.
         The simple problem is that T&T  politics is built around a system of dependency which was created by slavery , indentureship and colonialism. When the government does hand out money many people use it to buy cars , expensive shoes and alcohol : Not invest in businesses ,education and houses like they should.
        So the solution is to break the cycle of dependancy by handing out investments , not cash. The state owns Petrotrin , half of CLICO , massive shares in Republic bank , T&TEC,  TSTT etc.  These are all assets that could be leverage creatively.
         Plus Treasury bonds that the central bank can print at a whim i believe - offer packages with stocks and bonds to all unionized workers , they will collect dividends and have something to retire on in the future. Give them a small increase in the wages as well to appease them and put liquidity into the economy .

 If anyone remembers England during the Thatcher years - that is a mess that can easily happen in Trinidad and Tobago if this crisis is not averted. And its EASY to avert the crisis . Negotiate creatively , there is always a solution that lets all sides win.

Christianity explained using string theory

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.

Quoting from Wikipedia :
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything (TOE), a self-contained mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter.

Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modelling them as vibrations of tinysupersymmetric strings. Superstring theory is a shorthand for supersymmetric string theory because unlike bosonic string theory, it is the version of string theory that incorporates fermions and supersymmetry.

If the highest form of energy is a ‘superstring’ A vine you could say according to the gospel . God is the ‘vine’ the divine energy behind all Creation , the problem with science is that it tries to see things objectively in a purely secular light- a religious scientist like Einstein or Newton (among the greatest scientists as well) would see all things as touching the mind of God.
      Religion is full of metaphors and symbols that help one understand the physical word.

Applying theories like Joesph Campbell’s monomyth and Carl Jung’s collective unconscious Religion feeds the human subconscious in a way that nothing else quite can match so it forms a very important basis for understanding the world through symbols and metaphors.
         They say prostitution is the oldest profession , but that i believe is highly inaccurate. Religion is  what originally gathered men together to build Egypt and Babylon in the old times , the Babylonians got their laws from their God as the Jews got theirs from the Prophet Moses and his lineage.
      Religion and Law go hand in hand as seen in Natural Law theory postulated by Aquinas , the ancients believed all law came from God and must line up with God’s natural morality .

At the very least studying Religion , even though one does not believe in God can improve one’s intellect and understanding of the human mind.

You could call this a 'Theory of Everything'.  It has also been theorized that it would take a near infinite amount of energy to break matter down to the  level of its most basic component , so indeed it would be 'impossible' to find God or a theory of everything unless you Believed in it.

All men are created equal before the interwebs

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/internet-a-human-right/

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/17session/A.HRC.17.27_en.pdf

     A UN report has indirectly declared internet access a human right , i dont have time to read it with exams coming but i'v been saying for years that internet access will eventually be a human right.  Keep in mind this is not a 'fundamental declaration of rights' right but a right under Treaty jurisprudence applicable only in a certain sitaution.
    So no : you cannot sue daddy for taking away your 100mbit connection.  It doesnt work that way- maybe in 50 years it will.

The suggestion of a referendum on the Privy council and Gay rights

IF there are any constitional scholars out there you can correct me if i'm wrong , but referendums are only constitutionally necessary to change 'entrenched' or fundamental principles of government , like the court system.
         It makes logical and legal sense to have a referendum for the privy council's adoption : it will allow the government an opportunity to galvanize and educate the public in support of a change to the Court system .The court system is the 3rd branch of government and the guardian of their rights, the people have a say in how their rights are to be treated.
      In short , they have a right to vote on their own rights.

However this is not true for the debate on equal rights for LGBT persons : There is no right to decide the rights of other people especially a minority group. It goes against the constitution itself ( Right to Equality) and against hundreds of years of political science and philosophy.
     The interpretation of what human rights mean is a complex process, but it is a process to be decided by impartial bodies such as the courts and international tribunals. The modern concept of Human Rights was largely created by the UN in the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1948.  The UN human rights committee has already decided Non discrimination and equality means equal rights for LGBT persons :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonen_v._Australia


The wealth of international case shows that once you have the right to Equality protected in the constitution , Equality means Equal rights for LGBT persons as well.
So the result of any referendum on LGBT rights is unnecessary . It is also a principle of Human Rights (and common sense) that a Majority must never decide the rights of a minority.



This happened in Nazi Germany : First they came for the gays , then the jews and gypsies , then those with deformities all because the masses supported Hitler.
 
Once you strengthen the rights of one group you strengthen all.
And i must reiterate again : The gay rights movement in Trinbago is not for 'marriage' , that is a debate only relevant to the USA.  It is at present legal in theory to fire someone from their job for being gay , and gays are not given equal protection against domestic violence etc.

       Several religious groups also support equal rights (short of marriage).

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/news/stories/05/06/catholics-must-challenge-laws-that-promote-discrimination-%E2%80%93-aec-president/ 

     As a catholic i'm glad when my own political views intersect with what the dude in rome says.

If anyone has not seen my thesis on Human rights law applied to LGBT rights, or doubts that i have read extensively on this issue and got a good grade for my for doing so please see here : http://works.bepress.com/jonathan_bhagan/1/   .

International law and human rights law is my thing. Most of my As and Bs are in human rights /international law courses.  My Ds are in courses i fell asleep in the exam room for , long story- but basically never try to bring sleeping meds into Barbados without a perscription. Customs and immigration will sieze and destroy them.

Thought Experment : Reperations for slavery and colonialism from the perspective of the Law of Damages and Causation (Tort)

  Studying the Law of Remedies and damages has lead to an interesting crossover in my mind. This branch of law deals with negligence and harms done that may be remedied by court action. The general 'remedy' is money , and the measure of money is found by a variety of principles -  
   one of them the Restitutio in integrum principle that the claimant must be put back in the position he was before the harm occurred.

      While the common law of damages does not apply in any real way to the debate on Reparations , there is some benefit in looking at the situation from this paradigm. For one it explains why all the african-americans in the US (or any common law nation) can't come forward with a class action law suit against former slave owning families and corporations for the harms of slavery.

Let me say here in advance : I do believe that  Colonialism is directly responsible for the state of the African continent - having destroyed whole nations and civilizations over hundreds of years. The descendants of slaves in the west are still affected by the legacy of slavery.  The destruction of traditional african values and the family unit in by slavery can be seen today - especially in the caribbean . 
     I remember having a debate with my friends at the USC debating society , Jean Claude Cournand , Angelo Hart , Adali Baisden  , Brandon O'brien etc.      The conclusion was (if i remember correctly) that african people in the west have spent more time being slaves than being free and slavery is still attributable for the social ills associated with blacks. 
    Thus i do believe European nations and old money families who owned slaves owe african peoples reparations for the damage done - damage that still is felt today.  I do believe they also owe India , China and all the nations they abused in their rise to power. ( i am mixed with every major ethnic group so i have a vested interest in all these debates) .
   
So onto my thought experiment :


 Many problems arise if you try to apply the rigid standards of law to the debate of reparations . Since the basic measure of damages is 'putting the claimant back in the position he was in before the harm occurred'  How does one go about finding the 'original state' of Africa's wealth in the 15th and 16th centuries? (whenever the trans-atlantic salve trade started - i'm no historian)  .
     How does one measure the value of a Civilization and culture - and a homeland?

  There are many other aspects of damages to consider as well - Exemplary  or Punitive damages would seek to punish wrongdoers for doing highly immoral acts.  Chattel slavery probably the most immoral thing in modern history  - The Jewish holocaust being one of the few other incidents that could begin to match the trans atlantic slave trade + the horrors experienced by slaves in the new world. (without prejudice to anyone's ethnicity - i remember an uproar in Cavehill when Dr. Berry compared the holocaust to slavery )
     Exemplary damages are a 'peculiar feature of the common law' (as said in one of the Trinidad Cement caes before the CCJ )  and not seen in international law or other legal systems such as the french 'Civil Code'- so it may be a stretch for them to actually be given if such a claim did occur.
     
  So how much money can compensate for one of the most immoral acts in history?  100 billion ? 1 Trillion? Do you also charge interest for 'being kept out of monies owed to you' over the hundreds of years since slavery ended?  Do you demand a lump sum or payments in installments? 

    One more aspect that would be looked at : the issue of causation . There are several principles used to establish causation but generally if the damage that occurred was 'reasonably foreseeable' then causation can be founded.  However the law sets limits on 'foreseeability' and causation by  principles relating to the remoteness  of damage ,which is best explained by reference to a case :

Bourhill v Young [1943] AC 92 is a Scottish delict case, on the subject of how extensive an individual's duty is to ensure others are not harmed by their activities. The case established important boundaries on the scope of recovery for bystanders, or those uninvolved with physical harm. Where a woman suffered psychiatric harm after walking onto the scene of a motorcycle accident, she was deemed not to be a foreseeable victim, having not been in immediate danger of physical harm.

Facts

On the 11th of October, 1938, Mr Young had been negligently riding a motorcycle along a road, and was involved in a collision with a car, fatally injuring him. At the time of the crash, Mrs Bourhill was about to leave a tram which she had been riding, around 50 ft from the scene of the accident. Mrs Bourhill heard the crash, commenting "I just got in a pack of nerves, and I did not know whether I was going to get it or not."^[1] Following the removal of Mr Young's body from the road, she approached the scene of the accident, seeing the blood remaining from the crash. Mrs Bourhill, at the time eight months pregnant, later gave birth to a stillborn child, and claimed she had suffered nervous shock, stress and sustained loss due to Mr Young.^[2]

 Applying these principles to the debate on reparations  :  it can be said that slavery and colonialism is a direct cause of much of the social ills and poverty plaguing Africa and african peoples in the west  - but where would you draw the line?


The debate can get quite interesting from this perspective as you can see - its a debate that is worth exploring (perhaps by law students - Maybe in future Remedies law classes so that we dont fall asleep).


              







  ( This post is merely me musing on the impact of colonialism and slavery from a different perspective. I do not intend to offend or insult any group - but the nature of my political positions is generally offensive so i do apologize in advance. I also apologize for my grammar- no time to edit)

addendum : a foreseeable counterargument to all this is that the European Union is the largest donar of aid in the world (last time i checked) and the US and England also give generously - so do these constitute reparations - or another moral obligation?

Trinidad to accept CCJ as appellate court

Word is it that the Kamla administration is moving forward with abolishing the privy council and establishing the CCJ as the highest court of appeal for criminal matters.



http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-04-26-000000/out-goes-privy-council

One step closer to regional integration and a good day for both lawyers and citizens- Having appeals to the CCJ instead of the privy council will make a final appeal much more affordable for the average man.
     It will also mean more work for lawyers- more money for me # winning.

 CCJ as final court also means  money saved for the state of trinidad and tobago when prosecuting criminals , they wont have to fly them and a team of lawyers to england for a case.  It will save the government millions.
        Will also make an appeal more accessible for those seeking justice : only 15 or so cases go to the privy council a year out of hundreds at the Court of appeal level and thousands at the high court level.


A very good move by the present administration  - my criticism of them generally as been alot of good talented diluted by alot of idiots + general inexperience. 

I heard a certain member of government was declared persona non grata in brazil... Basically it means he can never set foot in Brazil again . Normal procedure is to sack someone who is stupid enough to achieve that status- but that government minister is still in office. (total douchebag i hear too).



http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-04-26/panday-calls-ccj-referendum-handle-people%E2%80%99s-freedom-properly-says-former-pm

Panday is calling for a referendum before the CCJ is implemented - a rational call as the Court system is fundamental in a democracy and highly entrenched and protected. However the 'lack of trust' in the CCJ is nonsense - Those who do not trust the CCJ do not understand the CCJ - i have yet to meet someone who has read on the issue and still wants to retain the privy council.

And one must reiterate that it is only for Criminal appeals - Constitutional rights will still be handled by the privy council and so will Civil cases for now. So the (constitutional) rights of the people are safe and the money spent on a large scale ' referendum' may be unfounded. 
      Constitutional rights issues sometimes arise out of a criminal trial -and those will be handled by the Privy council for now. Thus if there is an issue of bias or unfairness or inequality before the law someone can appeal from the CCJ to the Privy council (though it will be a one in a million case) for justice.
        
      Anyone who has read the Joseph and Boyce CCJ judgement and contrasted it Privy Council judgements will see - the CCJ can indeed produce BETTER law than the Privy council given the chance.   The currant president of the CCJ is also a member of the privy council as well.

It may just be a case of caribbean people not trusting their own  -   They think the white man's system is better instinctively . And they are wrong.

ADDENDUM : MY old lecturer Douglas Mendes agrees with me on the quality of the CCJ's judgements :
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-04-26/senior-counsel-supports-decision-mendes-tt-now-fully-independent

There is no doubt that the Privy Council is a first-class international tribunal. But so is the CCJ.” Asked if the CCJ, inaugurated in Port-of-Spain on April 16, 2005, had delivered enough judgments to enable such a diagnosis, Mendes said, “Quite a few judgments were delivered and I’ve read most of them.

“I agreed with some and disagreed with some. But that’s my personal opinion. “The quality of the judgments was quite high.”

Mendes has been one of my role models for the last 4 years - nothing short of a legal demigod.

Kamla seeks Obama's help for fast boats

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Kamla_seeks_Obama_s_help_for_fast_boats-148031355.html

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday she held discussions with United States President Barack Obama about partnering with the Caribbean region for the procurement of fast patrol vessels.

She was speaking at the VIP Lounge of Piarco International Airport upon her return from Colombia where she attended the Sixth Summit of the Americas, and from Panama where she made an official visit.

Persad-Bissessar said she asked Obama to look at a map where she pointed out to him that the islands of the Caricom region were like "stepping stones" leading up to North America.

The Manning administration previously had ordered 3 Offshore Patrol Vessels valued at over 1 billion TT dollars to do a similar job . Kamla's administration subsequently cancelled that deal. , which in my opinion was the right thing to do : The country could nto afford to spend and upkeep such ships in the present economic climate.

The ships were also overkill for the job they needed to do :
http://www.baesystems.com/cs/groups/public/documents/document/mdaw/mdu2/~edisp/baes_045473.pdf

"The Offshore Patrol Vessel is a highly versatile
ship, designed to perform Economic Exclusion
Zone management roles, including the provision
of maritime security to coastal areas and
effective disaster relief."

The exclusive economic zone is 200 miles as per the UN treaty . Our zone is contigous with venezuela , guyana , Greneda and Barbados so it is much smaller than 200 miles. The specified range of this class of ship is 5500 miles. Completely unecessary







The 3 OPVs would have cost over 1 billion and required millions in maintenence per year. We are getting a full refund for the OPVs and maybe even damages for BAE system's failure to deliver the contract on time.
We could not afford the OPVs given the state of the economy.

Ships the class of those OPVs are really meant to patrol the 200 mile Exclusive economic zone ( UNCLOS) that states have rights to. Trinidad and tobago has a tiny strip of sea to patrol- those ships were excessive for our needs.

If we partner wtih the rest of CARICOM they will help foot the bill and border security will be more effective.


"The United States, said Persad-Bissessar, has allocated US$130 million for system security and safety in the region, however, she noted this money would go through as a sieve and be lost. "
The US will help us pay for these patrol boats as it is in their best interest to prevent drug shipments from the caribbean to Florida/new york.

A large number of fast, cheap patrol boats that can dock across CARICOM would do a better job of border security and drug interdiction.

11 Year old passes CAPE (A level) Subjects : Worshipping the wrong achievement

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/featured-news/11-year-old_passes_CAPE_subjects-144314385.html

"

Somma Chevalier brought her parents great joy after she wrote the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) at the tender age of 11.

Her mother, Marsha Badri-Chevalier, praised her daughter's efforts after she received four 3s, one 2 and one 4 in the following subjects: Mathematics 3, English Language 3, Principles of Accounts 2, Principles of Business 3, Social Studies 3 and Human and Social Biology 4."

I think this is actually a bad thing... Good for the girl who can achieve so much at a young age but this obsession with 'grades' and paper qualifications is keeping caribbean society back.



To get those grades she would have had to sacrifice socialization , play and activities she should be enjoying as a child. That will have a negative impact on her development..
I had a teacher who started UWI at 16 and had a masters and a PHD very very early in life, he partly regretted it because he was always a social outcast : The youngest in ever class , never had the time to socialize and enjoy life.



Steve Jobs and Gates dropped out of university -no major qualifications. They changed the world and made the world's biggest companies. Grades- Don't- matter. What you can create from nothing is what matters, not what you regurgitate.

'T&T paying for but not using CCJ'

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/_T_T_paying_for_but_not_using_CCJ_-144489695.html

I went to a conference on these issues in the High Court and met (Well walked within 3 feet of ) half the CCJ judges... Met one of them , justice Anderson, in UWI cavehill and talked to him for a bit.

There are over 200 appeals to the court of appeal of Trinidad per year,less than 20 of those go to the privy council for final appeal mainly due to the cost involved . This means the poor cannot access a final appeal.

In Guyana , a nation that accepted the CCJ, most of the appeals have been by middle class individuals , not big businessmen as some might expect.

And in some cases the Privy Council is producing inferior law because they are :
1. Not familiar with our cultural circumstances.
2. Realize they are unfamiliar , and thus don't try to develop the law where it may infringe on our cultural practices.

If you read the Joseph and boyce CCJ judgement and the PC judgement , the CCJ judgement is far more comprehensive (100 pages) and in my opinion superior...


Joseph and Boyce Judgement : http://www.worldcourts.com/ccj/eng/decisions/2006.11.08_Attorney_General_v_Joseph.htm

Attorneys launch project to highlight discrimination against gays

Two young attorneys, Trinidadian Tamara Sylvestor and American Jacqueline Bevilacqua, have launched a collaborative project to document discrimination against persons of such sexual orientation in T&T.

They have also set up an e-mail account, tellyourstorytnt@gmail.com for such persons to lodge complaints.

Their goal is to provide a base for policy or legal action and for public education. The two have set out to document real cases and to find facts and trace patterns of discrimination and denial of services and employment based on sexual orientation or gender expression.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/11/07/attorneys-launch-project-highlight-discrimination-against-gays

A Constitutional Emergency?

On August 21^st 2011 a state of emergency was declared in Trinidad and Tobago to deal with crime. Pursuant to section 7 of the constitution, the President made the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2011 . Since that date the rights of the people of T&T have been damaged under the guise of a national security plan that flies in the face of basic human rights.
The state has a positive duty to promote and protect human rights by its actions and policy. During this emergency we have seen the exact opposite. The ‘Granny Quilla’ issue where a 14 year old girl jokingly suggested the Prime minister should be assassinated is an example of a draconian infringement of rights.
The state threatened legal action against the young girl , with the Attorney General suggesting that she ‘Turn herself over to the police and let the law take its course’ . Beyond traumatizing a young girl, the state’s handling of this matter seriously damaged the public’s right to free speech. Since this incident much of the public has been afraid to air political views for fear of prosecution.
At no point in time did the state properly clarify the extent to which the right to free speech had been limited. Instead, with their policy of ‘monitoring’ Facebook , the state has allowed the population to believe that they will be punished for discussing and condemning the acts of the government.
This arbitrariness is against the rule of law . How are citizens to act lawfully and exercise their rights when faced with such vague yet draconian policies?
Looking at the State of Emergency regulations, we see that many rights are limited that have no connection with the crime situation.
In particular, Section 7 of the regulations makes it illegal to take part in any public meeting or march without permission, limiting freedom of movement. Sections 13 and 14 limit freedom of expression and the freedom to receive and impart information. Criminals do not protest or seek to inform the public of their grievances. How then is it justifiable to limit the public’s rights in such a way?
Section 7 (3) of the constitution allows limitations of rights under the SOE to have effect once they are reasonably justifiable for the purpose of dealing with the situation that exists.
This echoes the venerable DeFreitas test for determining what a reasonably justifiable limitation of a right is :
(1) There must be a sufficiently important objective to justify limiting the right.
(2) The measures designed to meet the legislative objective must be rationally connected to it.
(3) That the means utilized must be no more than is necessary to accomplish the objective.
The last leg of the test is also similar to Article 4 of the ICCPR:

“1 . In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures derogating from their obligations under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation “
We see a similar caveat again repeated in the Paris Minimum Standards of Human Rights norms in a state of emergency. This document crystalizes customary international law and is highly persuasive:

“2. The power to take derogatory measures as aforesaid is subject to five general conditions:
(b) Such measures must be strictly proportionate to the exigencies of the situation.

(c) Such measures must not be inconsistent with the other obligations of the state under international law.”

In light of the case law, international documents and the very wording of the constitution, how can unnecessary limitations of rights be justified? Unless the government can show that these measures were important to maintaining order and dealing with the crime situation, the state of emergency can be said to be in breach of both the Constitution and International Law.

My Academic Webpage for Scholarly Works

My academic webpage for scholarly works

Since Cavehill Law Society went broke and my work was not published in the student journal..which im not sure still exists.. I took the liberty of publishing my own work online .
I do believe in the importance of my writing in developing the law , My thesis on the universality of human rights in particular is *actually* on the cutting edge of legal thinking and i’v only found 1 paper that covers similar ground on the entire internets.


http://works.bepress.com/jonathan_bhagan/

Damage to ASA Wright and to My heritage

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-03-12/asa-wright-falls-under-backhoes-dynamite

http://www.oas.org/dsd/fida/laws/legislation/trinidad_&_tobago/trinidad_&_tobago_ema-2000.pdf

"calling on Government to call a halt to quarrying on the mountain ridge facing the centre. The call was made yesterday at a news briefing at the centre. It follows complaints from the centre, as well as local and foreign supporters, about quarrying in the area. Though the quarrying looks like a small scar on the hillside from the centre, to birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts it is not only an eyesore but a direct threat to the habitat of animals in an area known for its biodiversity"


My Ancestors used to own the land that presently consists of Asa Wright and stretches of the mountains and valley around it. Approximately 100 years ago the land was used for a cocoa estate , and there is still an estate house and a water mill in the valley.


My distant family still owns land in the valley north of Asa Wright and the mountains above it , so i am even more pissed than the average eco-activist.

The EMA as an authority is a huge white elephant that routinely fails to do its job. It might as well be closed down so that taxpayer dollars are saved.


I'v heard the bullshit argument before that it 'isn't in the EMA's purview to be a watchdog' and that the EMA doesnt have such powers..... Which is more crap , the powers the EMA needs to deal protect the environment are already in the Environmental Managment Act 2000.

Section 16 (h) of the act states that : " The functions of the EMA are to take all appropriate action for the prevention and control of pollution and the conservation of the environment"
Section 20 of the Act States that " The Authority has the power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with the performance of its functions" .

Basically the Authority DOES in deed have the power to stop any act that damages the environment . Using broad interpretation a judge can read into the act ANY power that is required for the EMA to protect the environment.
Given that Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory to various International Environmental treaties , such an interpretation of the act must be taken in order to fulfill its treaty obligations ( Joseph and Boyce case and R v Lyons for the law students) .
Now that it can be said that the EMA does have the power to act and deal with environmental abuse , can its lack of action be tolerated?

I personally want all EMA executives to write a public apology to the nation for their incompetence. You are not only destroying the heritage of the nation, but MY personal heritage as well.

Get your act together , remember our tax dollars pay YOU . You are accountable to us. As it stands now the EMA might as well be closed down and those tax dollars saved, because it is failing its job.

Yes i want to fire you from your jobs sirs , and i mean every amount of disrespect that goes with that statement.

Imbert on the new children's Bill

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Imbert-Bill-could-criminalise-children-142269765.html

It is good that someone is standing up to look at the bill critical and point out the absurdities in the legislation. Criminalizing sex between underage children is madness in a society where a majority of people have had sexual experiences by the age of 13 .

One line in particular i have issue with:
"He also criticised clause 85 of the bill which stated that the local Court would have jurisdiction over incidents that occurred in other countries. Imbert pointed out that laws of this type cannot have an extra-territorial nature"
Imbert is wrong on this point. I just came back from a conference in Jamaica where an american professor of international human rights kept harping to me that the Rape was a crime against humanity thanks to X person who got it included in the treaty establishing the international Criminal Court .
Crimes against humanity that go against basic norms of human rights and international law are triable by any court. Crimes against a state's national are also triable in the home state under the Protective principle of criminal jurisdiction..
I do believe Trinbagonian courts should be allowed to try foreigners who abuse our children in the interest of the best possible protection, such a thing would be a rare occurence in any event.

Its not about "Marriage" , The need to be politically correct on LGBT Rights

"

PNM to discuss policy on same sex marriages

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/PNM-to-discuss-policy-on-same-sex-marriages-141120073.html

Once again we have a bunch of politicians talking out of their collective asses on issues they do not understand. This time the rhetoric they use does actual damage to the LGBT rights debate in the country.
I am 99% sure that no gay rights group has ever brought a proposal for 'Gay Marriage' to the table . They are simply fighting for basic rights , Equality before the law , Domestic Violence protection , Protection under the Equal Opportunities act which prevents discrimination in the workplace.
To make the debate one about 'gay marriage' does injustice to all parties by spreading misinformation .
Many conservative people do support some basic equality for LGBT persons , but any talk of 'Gay Marriage' is seen by them as an attack on religious institutions and inspire in them only disdain and indifference.

I must commend Rowley for being tactful and setting the issue aside , he could have easily turned it into a gay-bashing session to score points with the crowd , but he didnt.

And i must stress : Any proper discussion on gay rights must bring to the table groups such as CAISO , and persons who are knowledgeable about the issue and will treat with the debate with the care that is necessary.
I would rather not see a bunch of politicians discuss the issue.. At best they will make several misteps , frame the argument badly and then sweep the entire issue under the rug for a few more years. At worst a politician will use gay bashing to score points with the masses , encouraging a climate of hate and intolerance.

And i must stress again : Gay Marriage is a debate that is only relevant to the United States and nations that already have basic equality for LGBT persons , it is not relevant in the caribbean and will not come up as an issue for many years.

Legally , i do believe Gay marriage requires legislative change and thus the support of Parliament and society as a whole, thus it will take time for Caribbean society to change and accept the idea.
Basic Gay rights on the other hand are not an issue for debate , they will be granted either by legislation or through Court action against laws that prevent equality. The constitution of Trinidad and Tobago guarentees Equality of all persons before the law , any law that goes against this is unconstitutional.

Canadian trying to dictate Caribbean politics

http://www.newsday.co.tt/letters/0,155708.html

"Christians and other people from traditional faith communities are being called in a new way to have courage. The problem today is not homophobia but theophobia — a hatred by some of God, faith, religion, and the Church. The public affirmation of this prejudice is the hallmark of ideological totalitarianism.



Paul Kokoski

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada"

Why is it that foreigners see fit to dictate how Trinbagonian politics should be? Canada and all first world nations have at this point basic equality for LGBT persons, and he's encouraging us to *remain* third world?
Please note that Christian groups in the US try to do the same thing in Uganda , whose policy is that gays may be executed for the crime of being homosexual. Foreign intervention of this kind in our domestic affairs should not be tolerated .

" Gay marriage is a threat to religious freedom and conscience rights."

The rights guaranteed by a democracy are for each individual to decide their own destiny , not anyone Else's. There is no 'right to impose my religion on others' , conservatives without law degrees get away with inventing crap like this too often.
It is also to be noted than the OFFICIAL position of many christian groups , including the catholic church is that LGBT persons deserve equal rights. Once they don't have sex , they're welcomed members of the church community as well.

But the issue of gay marriage isn't even relevant in the Caribbean debate for rights . Local LGBT rights groups are fighting for basic rights and decriminalization, gay marriage is a prospect for the far far future.
It is extremely dangerous to frame the debate as ' Gay Marriage' , not only is it misinformation , it discourages support from conservatives who may be open to Equal rights in other areas.
The debate must be framed as follows : LGBT persons in the Caribbean don't have access to basic rights, such as protection from domestic violence or discrimination in the workplace on the basis of their orientation. The struggle is in order to grant them those basic rights, which they deserve by virtue of being taxpaying citizens.