“For the President to issue a Policy that restricts livestreaming, broadcasting and publication of her name and image without permission is a direct threat to freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Unlike those constitutionally entrenched rights, there is no constitutional protection for the President’s name and image.” The …
Read More »Dear Editor: State’s belligerence to FOIA requests drove up my legal costs, not greed
“Had the information been disclosed upon my request the State would not have incurred any legal costs… It was the Minister’s and Cabinet’s refusal in the first place and belligerence in the second place that cost the State over $400,000 in legal fees and not my attorneys trying to milk …
Read More »Dear Editor: Judicial delays, low detection rate and faulty logic; the problem with the ‘hangman cure’
“Logic, if you followed me so far, would dictate that there are two main barriers to implementing hanging: an abysmally low detection rate by any standards; and an inefficient judicial system which appears designed for lawyers to make more money by using delay tactics…” The following Letter to the Editor …
Read More »Dear Editor: No chit, no child and I will be fine; six months after my struggle to tie my tubes
“The article I submitted to Wired868 protesting the hypocrisy and stigma surrounding women’s health rights went viral and held the interest of the nation for a few days. “[…] The choice to bear a child is a woman’s right, as much as the choice to not bear children.” Six months …
Read More »Dear Editor: T&T’s legal profession woefully short on ethics; pound home Her Excellency’s message
“Twenty years ago, the ‘Nolan principles’ in the UK sought to improve standards in public life. These seven principles are: Selflessness; Integrity; Objectivity; Accountability; Openness; Honesty; Leadership. At the time, these principles were revolutionary because they focused on behaviour and culture, rather than processes. “You’d be hard-pushed to find anyone …
Read More »Dear Editor: Resolving the concerns over the judiciary, Gafoor suggests mediation
“At stake here is the constitutional right to freedom of expression, which is ventilated not only during the Carnival season but is an entitlement which belongs to all citizens protected under the Constitution and the common law, subject only to the law of defamation or other statutory constraints…” In the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Weekes weak week; an illegal appointment can’t be ‘redressed’
I note with some amusement that President Paula-Mae Weekes ‘suddenly discovered’ an error was made in the paperwork leading up to the appointment of Judge Charmaine Pemberton as a member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC). “She explained what the error was: ‘While the relevant instrument of appointment …
Read More »Dear Editor: Senior citizens being denied departure tax exemption due to dual citizenship
“Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who are 60 years and older are exempt from paying the airport usage fees, usually called Departure Tax. But a recent instruction to the airlines by the legal department of the Immigration Office has modified this privilege and I think wrongly so. “The airlines have …
Read More »Dear Editor: Dangerous precedent for govt to seize Mahmud and Ayyub; so why the silence?
“[…] I consider it a very dangerous precedent that the Government can so easily take custody of people’s children. If the argument is that the boys need some sort of specialised care that the mother cannot provide, then why won’t they still placed with her and visited by relevant personnel?” …
Read More »Dear Editor: If Lok Jack loves Trinidad farmers so much, why doesn’t ABIL employ them?
“Has [Arthur Lok Jack’s Associated Brands Group of Companies or] ABIL ever supported farmers in Trinidad and Tobago to cultivate and supply sugar for its snacks, corn for its flakes, coconut for its cream filling and shortcake, and rice for its rice crisps? “Has ABIL ever supported farmers in the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Gary Griffith is no superhero; we all must do our part to thwart crime
“The resources were always there to curb crime, to make some effort to rein in a sector of people who have no regard for the majority. What was lacking was the will; the desire to make the country better and to do whatever it takes to achieve it. “And this …
Read More »Crowne: AG Al-Rawi curiously wrong in characterising ‘doxing Devant’
“Doxing, according to the AG, ‘is when you go out of your way to crash a system using certain truths’ which is ‘akin to a cybercrime’. With the greatest of respect, this is untrue. This is not what doxing is. “[…] In fact both the Interim Report and Report of …
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