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Case details

Ravi Balgobin Maharaj (Appellant) v The Cabinet of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and another (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago)

Case ID: JCPC 2023/0016

Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Case summary

Issue

Were the Court of Appeal wrong to decide that a law which fixed the term of those elected to local government applied to individuals who had been elected to local government before the creation of the law?

Facts

On 2 December 2019, local government elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago. The law at that time stated that office would be held for three years. On 1 July 2022, a law was passed which extended the term to four years. On 3 November 2022, the Minister for Rural Development and Local Government confirmed that the effect of this was to extend the terms of those elected on 2 December 2019 by a year, and that the local government elections would be postponed by one year.

The Appellant applied for permission to judicially review this decision and for a temporary order preventing the people elected on 2 December 2019 from acting in local government beyond 3 December 2022. The application for this order was dismissed and the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal dealt with both the request for the order and the substantive issues. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. The appellant appeals to the JCPC.

Parties

Appellant(s)

Ravi Balgobin Maharaj

Respondent(s)

(1) The Cabinet of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
(2) The Minister for Rural Development and Local Government

Appeal

Justices

Lord Reed, Lord Hodge, Lord Briggs, Lord Kitchin, Lord Richards

Hearing start date

15 March 2023

Hearing finish date

15 March 2023

Watch hearing
15 March 2023 Morning session Afternoon session
 

Judgment details

 

Judgment date

18 May 2023

Neutral citation

[2023] UKPC 17

 
Watch Judgment summary
18 May 2023 Judgment summary