Dominic Hadeed and another (Respondents) v Commissioner of Police and three others (Appellants) (Trinidad and Tobago)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2026/0066

Jurisdiction

Trinidad and Tobago

Parties

Appellant(s)

The Commissioner of Police, The Minister of Homeland Security, The Attorney General, PC Eldon Calliste No 16601

Respondent(s)

Dominic Hadeed, Genevievre Hadeed

Issue

Are the applicants entitled to interim relief, in the form of substituting their detention in prison for house arrest?

Facts

The respondents in this appeal are Dominic Hadeed and Genevierve Hadeed (together “the applicants”). They were detained from 24th June 2026 without charge. They are challenging the basis for detention by way of judicial review. This appeal concerns their request for interim relief, in the form of immediate release from detention. On 24th June 2026, the applicants were arrested at their home and detained. This was based on their suspected involvement in a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister and other members of the Government. On 27th June 2026, the Minister of Homeland Security issued Preventative Detention Orders (“PDOs”) in respect of each respondent. The PDOs authorise their indefinite detention on preventative grounds, without the requirement for a charge. The PDOs were issued pursuant to the Emergency Powers Regulations 2026 (“the Regulations”). The Regulations were issued in response to the declaration of a state of public emergency in Trinidad and Tobago and give enhanced powers of arrest and detention to police and the executive during the course of the public emergency. The current state of emergency, under which the Regulations were issued and the applicants are detained, is set to come to an end on 15th September 2026. The applicants applied for writ of habeas corpus and sought judicial review of the PDOs. Permission to apply for judicial review of the PDOs was granted. The applicants applied for interim relief, in the form of release from detention pending the result of their judicial review application. In the High Court, the judge refused their applications for habeas corpus and interim relief. The applicants appealed to the Court of Appeal, which allowed the appeal. The Court of Appeal granted the applicants interim relief, ordering their immediate release from detention, on the condition that they remain on house arrest. The appellants now appeal to His Majesty in Council, with the permission of the Court of Appeal. The appellants also applied for a stay of the effect of the Court of Appeal order pending the appeal. The application for a stay was granted, such that the applicants remain in detention pending this appeal. Since this appeal was filed the applicants were released from detention.

Date of issue

21 July 2026

Case origin

Appeal As of Right

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