Speech By the Hon. Attorney General on the Opening of the Supreme Court of the TCI
My Lady Chief Justice, Judges of the Supreme Court, distinguished guests, President of the Bar Council and Colleagues at the Bar, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am pleased to rise to move a motion for the opening of the Supreme Court for the 2015 session after a long abeyance in this practice. On this ceremonial occasion, it is perhaps timely to recall the origins of this event in the Middle Ages in the United Kingdom. For the legal fraternity, this traditional gathering commemorates the principles of defending access to justice and the rule of law. I commend My Lady Chief Justice for reintroducing the practice as such events “… reminds all of those actively involved within the legal system of the need to uphold these principles internationally, as well as at home, for the benefit of society.”
With your Ladyship’s leave I propose in moving the motion, to make a few observations by way of a brief retrospective on 2014 as well as a look at some of the work before us.
2014 can only be described as another daunting year for the legal profession in the Turks and Caicos Islands. A year in which there was more than the usual share of challenges. Fortunately we were more than able to rise to each challenge and to dispassionately and calmly meet matters head on.
My Ladies, 2014 was characterized by continued good work, co-operation and endeavour in a number of areas by stakeholders in the legal arena and significant further progress towards systemic improvements.
Access to Law – Work is almost completed on the current Law Revision which has a revision date of 31st December 2014 and is intended to be issued before the end of the first quarter of 2015. In this regard, the question of greater access to the laws of the Turks and Caicos Islands is being explored to provide a solution that would allow more ready access through the use of modern technology whilst at the same time maintain the integrity of the authorized versions of the Law which would be used in the Court room setting.
Legislation - I am pleased to report in a bid to give effect to the Government's Legislative Agenda, that the Legislative Drafting division had another very active year and with the cooperation and involvement of members of the legal profession, associations and the general public a number of important pieces of legislation were progressed. We are grateful for the assistance of all those who participated in the consultation process with respect to the very many pieces of legislation which were considered throughout the year, including legislation dealing with the better regulation of Not For Profit organizations.
The hardworking staff of the Legislative Drafting division consists of three drafters and one legislative systems administrator with a vacancy in one of the drafting positions. That small team produced 24 Ordinances and some 50 pieces of subsidiary legislation.
Of note:
1. The Abolition of Bearer Shares which was done by a December 2013 Ordinance which took effect in the first half of 2014.
2. Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance 2014 which provides for the implementation of the United Nations Convention respecting the suppression of the financing of terrorism and the United Nations Security Council resolution on terrorism and generally to make provision for preventing and combating terrorism. The Ordinance is modelled after the UK Terrorism Act 2000 and the Terrorism (Jersey) Law 2002.
3. Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance 2014 – provides for the rehabilitation of offenders who have not been reconvicted within the specified rehabilitation period. This is to ensure that people do not have lifelong blots on their records because of relatively minor offences in their past, which may impact negatively in such persons acquiring employment or other services. The intention of the Ordinance is to exclude any prejudice which may occur because of disclosures of person’s relatively minor past convictions or offences; and to aid the reintegration and resettlement of ex-offenders into employment by not requiring them or any other person to disclose or answer questions regarding their spent convictions.
4. Financial Intelligence Agency Ordinance 2014 – established an independent agency to assist in the detection, prevention and control of financial crimes; by receiving reports of suspicious transactions from financial institutions and other persons; analysing that information and disseminating it to law enforcement authorities and relevant bodies.
5. Invest Turks and Caicos Islands Agency 2014 – established the Invest Turks and Caicos Agency as a corporate body with legal personality to assist the Government in encouraging business and commercial development in the Islands.
6. Dormant Accounts Ordinance 2014 – makes provision for financial institutions to report dormant accounts to the Permanent Secretary, Finance and to transfer monies in accounts that have not been used for more than 7 years, called “dormant accounts” to the Government, subject to claims for repayment by the owners of the dormant accounts. Prior to the enactment of that Ordinance, all inactive accounts were managed by banks. The Ordinance was based largely on the Cayman Islands Dormant Accounts Law 2010 but consideration was also given to the BVI Dormant Accounts Act 2011 and the Republic of Ireland Dormant Accounts Act 2001.
Additionally, a heavy legislative drafting programme is being prepared for the year 2015 in order to give effect to the Government’s Legislative Agenda.
Some of the proposals to be implemented by legislative measures include-
1. New Domestic Insurance provisions
2. Trust law reform
3. Immigration law reform
4. Important criminal law and procedure reforms
5. An Employment Bill to repeal and replace the current law with substantial reforms
6. Small Medium Enterprise proposals to encourage local business
7. An Attorney General's Reference Bill to enable questions to be referred to the court
8. New and substantial anti Domestic Violence provisions
9. More elaborate provision to provide for the Maintenance of Children
10. Detailed Family Guardianship Custody and Access to Children provisions
11. Better provision for Child (Care and Adoption)
12. New provisions relating to Child and Juvenile Justice
As well as the completion of work on the long consulted new Legal Profession provisions to reform the law in this area to provide for better accountability and effectiveness in areas such as the training of local attorneys and continuous education generally, handling client accounts, requirements relating to good practice for insurance coverage, solvency and discipline.
International obligations – As for international obligations, during 2014 the Turks and Caicos Islands completed negotiations and signed a FATCA agreement with the United States of America, was a member of the early adopters group along with all of the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies following recent developments in the new international Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters. We saw the beginning of the National Risk Assessment of our financial services industry using the World Bank tool, which is a self-assessment ahead of the next round of peer assessments by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. I wish to personally thank the members of the Bar and the private sector generally for their participation and ongoing commitment.
Crime – On the crime front, we note the continued extensive work of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police in meeting the many challenging situations over the past year. In so doing I take this opportunity to thank the outgoing DPP JoAnn Meloche who has served the Islands with energy and determination during her tenure and has seen the progressive development of the Office of the DPP which may be her enduring legacy. Additionally, I wish to offer our sincere gratitude to the outgoing Commissioner of Police Colin Farquhar who has led the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force through the numerous challenges faced by them and the Islands during his tenure. At the same time, I welcome the incoming Commissioner James Smith to the post and extend to him our good wishes for a smooth transition.
I also take this opportunity to commend the DPP and the Commissioner and their respective teams of Officers for their strenuous efforts in fighting crime and overseeing law and order.
Administration of Justice – Turning now to the administration of justice, our gratitude goes out to the former Chief Justice Edwin Goldsbrough for his competent service to the Islands as head of the Judiciary. With the appointment of My Lady Chief Justice we have already begun to see the fruits of some of the energy referred to by His Excellency Governor Beckingham in his speech at the swearing in. Noting that a new Judge of the Supreme is shortly to arrive and other efforts at reforming the administration of the judiciary are already underway with plans to promote important law reforms, many of which coincide with areas of law reform already being considered. Other areas of welcome reform which are being considered include the publication of statistics and better financial management.
On the issue of facilities, we saw the opening of an additional and much needed courtroom on Providenciales, however, it is noted that the increasing reliance on video-conference or remote testimony, in both domestic as well as mutual assistance in criminal matters cases, would be greatly hampered if these facilities were not of an acceptable standard or were not well maintained. My Lady, the Government is committed to ensuring the proper resourcing of the courts and it is hoped that improvements in this area will shortly be realized.
The volume of civil and commercial litigation has markedly increased and important work on establishing an accessible repository of judicial decisions which would be greatly assist civil and commercial litigators needs the support of the bar to succeed. All levels of the Courts have been incredibly busy and notwithstanding some challenges, it is obvious that the judiciary has worked assiduously during 2014 and has accomplished much.
Personnel side – My Ladies, I am pleased to say that two additional civil/commercial attorneys and one additional drafter are due to be hired within my Chambers in the first quarter of 2015. I am equally pleased to announce that Mrs. Wynante Adrien-Roberts has today taken up her position as Deputy Attorney General following the February 2014 vacancy. Mrs. Adrien-Roberts is a thoroughly qualified and experienced attorney having been solicitor general in Dominica for many years before moving to the private bar. Mrs. Adrien-Roberts will focus on training and development within my Chambers and will undoubtedly be an asset to my already stellar team.
We recognize that while change is underway in some areas, there are still steps which need to be taken towards full implementation of others in 2015. The challenges of dispensing justice are numerous and supporting each other is our strength. Together we ought to stand up in our various roles as the judiciary, the legal service and the private bar and make a difference.
My Ladies there remains only for me to reiterate the continued commitment of the Government in ensuring the required resources for the smooth administration of Justice, and of my Chambers to providing quality service and our assistance in whatever way we can to facilitate the efficient conduct of the business of these Courts, valuing the independence of the Judiciary as a corner stone to the rule of law and in moving the motion for the opening of the Supreme Court 2015 to wish for your Ladyships, Magistrates, Court Staff, and all here present, a prosperous and productive New Year.
I now formally move the motion for the opening of the Turks and Caicos Islands Supreme Court for the year 2015. May it so please you my Ladies.
Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, OBE
Hon. Attorney General
5th January 2015
No Ebola case in Haiti, says acting PM
Health officials have dismissed reports that a case of Ebola has been detected in the country.
On Saturday, Dr Florence D Guillaume, minister of public health, told the Haitian Caribbean News Network that the reports of an Ebola case being detected in the vicinity of Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite, in the northern region of the country were totally false.
"There are ill-intentioned people spreading such rumours," said Guillaume, the acting prime minister
According to Guillaume, the depoliticisation of the health sector was "an essential principle for the restoration of trust and confidence in the response to provide to individuals who require care and services for prevention, maintaining or the restoration of their health in case of illness".
The Ministry of Health has, meanwhile, called on the population "to remain calm and to respect all disclosed prevention regulations while making the duty, if any were needed, to reassure everyone of the effectiveness of the vigilance system in place to reduce significantly the risk of contamination of our country".
Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids.
There is no known cure for the Ebola virus which has killed more than 7,000 people, mainly in West Africa.
Former T&T National Security Minister drowns
Former national security minister Martin Joseph drowned Monday while bathing on a beach here, police have confirmed.
However the police said they were not releasing any details as yet regarding the death of Joseph, who served as cabinet minister in the Patrick Manning government from 2001.
“I just got information that the body has been recovered and in fact it is the case he has indeed drowned earlier this morning and of course everybody is in shock and traumatised,” said the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Orville London.
London, a deputy leader of the main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) speaking on radio, said that Joseph, in his late 60's who served as parliamentary representative for the St Ann's East Constituency from 1995-2002 and was appointed Minister of National Security in November 2003, was holidaying with a friend and was not on party business.
Joseph, who held a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, in the United States, also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Regional Science from the George Washington University, Washington DC and held an Associate Degree in Marine Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC.
He was also a lecturer in Strategic Management at the Institute of Business of the University of the West Indies.
Source-CMC
President Danilo Medina to visit Puerto Rico next week
President Danilo Medina will officially visit Puerto Rico on January 13 to participate in the signing of several cooperation agreements with the authorities of that US territory.
Puerto Rican Secretary of State David Bernier said Monday at a press conference that Medina will be accompanied by a large Dominican delegation including government officials and a group of entrepreneurs.
The president will meet with Puerto Rico governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla for a working meeting of the Joint Commission created last October for agreements that promote bilateral economic development, job opportunities and security.
"The Joint Commission has been working for several months with the participation of more than a dozen officials from both countries. The agreements signed are not a formal affair but specific public policy actions that have content and practicality,"said Bernier.
Representatives of both governments, together with members of the Dominican community in Puerto Rico, will pay homage to the hero of Dominican independence Juan Pablo Duarte and Puerto Rican educator, philosopher and nationalist Eugenio Maria de Hostos.
Apple sued over 'shrinking' gadget storage
Apple is facing a lawsuit for not telling users about the amount of memory required by its flagship operating system.
The legal complaint revolves around iOS 8 and the amount of memory it reserves for itself on iPods, iPhones and iPads.
The complaint alleges that it takes up so much space that far less than advertised is left for people to store their own data.
Apple has yet to issue any official comment on the lawsuit.
The complaint has been filed in California by Miami residents Paul Orshan and Christopher Endara who say that iOS 8 can occupy up to 23.1% of the memory available on some Apple devices.
In addition, upgrading devices from the earlier iOS 7 to 8 can cause people to lose up to 1.3 gigabytes of memory, said papers filed in support of the legal action.
The amount of memory taken up by iOS 8 can mean users run out of storage and, the pair allege, this is helping Apple force people to sign up for its fee-based iCloud storage system.
The lawsuit is seeking millions of dollars in damages for those using Apple devices facing the storage squeeze.
So far, Apple has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
The latest upgrade to iOS 8 was released in late September but Apple was forced to withdraw and then re-issue it because the first version meant a lot of iPhone 6 and Plus handsets could no longer make calls.
Apple issued a public apology over the botched update but said only 40,000 people were affected by it.
Source-BBC
Record Numbers at Successful 5th Annual Maskanoo
Maskanoo, the brainchild of TCHTA continues to be a yearly success and has definitely earned a top spot on TCI's annual calendar of events.
The recently concluded Maskanoo 2014 event managed and produced on behalf of TCHTA by David Bowen, Director of Culture saw a record number of locals and visitors congregating on Provo's Grace Bay strip, all eager to be a part of the TCI Boxing Day tradition. Keeping the crowd moving and grooving were the Steel Pan Band, Breeze Beach Dancers, Oooh La La dancers, Kino & Kaz, Elroy and Dez while the Filipino Community Group entertained the crowd with their traditional dance performance and breathtaking costumes and the local Haitian community was left begging for more as the Haitian Ra Ra Group put on a fantastic show.
TCHTA's Executive Director Stacy Cox congratulated Bowen for managing another successful Maskanoo, noting, "David has partnered with the TCHTA from the inception of Maskanoo and we had no doubt that his commitment and dedication to seeing the event grow and develop would have ensured its success in 2014. For an event still in its infancy stage we continue to be amazed by the positive crowd response and the massive turnout which we have seen in the past five years. We would like to commend our partners like the Royal TCI Police Force, Dove Security, HAB Group, FortisTCI and SkyJuice etc who worked closely with David to guarantee such a well executed event which was incident-free."
TCHTA told RTC News that they are looking forward to a bigger and better Maskanoo set of events in 2015 including the Maskanoo Fun Run and Maskanoo Poker Tournament.
Shelby celebrates 50th Anniversary of Cobra 427
The iconic Shelby Cobra, based on the British-built AC Ace roadster — first left Carroll Shelby’s shop in 1962 with a 4.3-liter, V-8 engine under its hood.
It took the Cobra name only a few months to become famous and Carroll quickly turned to making it equally popular on the race track. Although the 4.7-liter version was unbeatable in the U.S. racing scene throughout 1964, Carroll also wanted the Cobra to become competitive in the FIA GT class, which was dominated by Ferrari back in the early 1960s.
Thus the Cobra 427 was born, a roadster that featured wider fenders, fatter tires, an upgraded chassis and a massive, 7.0-liter, V-8 engine.
Notwithstanding the fact that it missed homologation for the 1965 racing season, the Cobra 427 went on to capture the SCCA’s covered "A Production" championship. A the same time, its road-legal version rocked the sports car world thanks to its amazingly powerful engine and reduced weight, which combined helped the Cobra obliterate most of its competitors.
As the 427 turns 50 years old in January 2015, Shelby American is building 50 new examples, which are dubbed the 50th Anniversary Cobra 427, to commemorate the occasion and bring back the most powerful roadster of the 1960s.
Russell and Bravo set to join West Indies for T20's
West Indies players Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo will join the West Indies team in South Africa for the two T20's, starting on Friday.
They are set to depart Australia’s Big Bash Twenty/20 league with their Melbourne Renegades team at the bottom of the points table.
Their latest defeat, which is their third from four matches, came yesterday in a humiliating 112 run fashion against derby rivals Melbourne Stars.
Bravo and Russell had done well with the ball.
Trinidadian Bravo claimed three for 22 while Jamaican Russell had one for 26 in helping to limit the stars to 169 for six.
However, the Caribbean players couldn't repeat their effort with the bat.
Russell scored nine and Bravo three as the renegades were blown away for 57, the lowest ever score in Big Bash history.
ESPN's Stuart Scott dies
Stuart Scott, the ESPN anchor and reporter whose catchphrases became part of the American popular sports vernacular for the past two decades, died Sunday morning after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 49.
"ESPN and everyone in the sports world have lost a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure in Stuart Scott," said ESPN president John Skipper. "Who engages in mixed martial arts training in the midst of chemotherapy treatments? Who leaves a hospital procedure to return to the set?
"His energetic and unwavering devotion to his family and to his work while fighting the battle of his life left us in awe, and he leaves a void that can never be replaced."
Scott, who received a standing ovation during his acceptance of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2014 ESPY Awards in July, addressed his uncertain future at the time.
"When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer," Scott told the audience. "You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."
Scott joined ESPN in 1993 for the launch of ESPN2, quickly moving up the ranks as one of the network's main SportsCenter anchors thanks to his rapid-fire delivery and unique phrasing to describe highlights. While Scott might not have invented the term "Boo-yah," he certainly popularized.
By 2008, Scott was ubiquitous among the network's programming. He anchored late-night SportsCenter shows, hosted Monday Night Countdown on location during the NFL season, served as the lead host for NBA on ESPN and ABC and interviewed Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.
It was a workload he'd do his best to maintain during several recurrences of cancer, a diagnosis which first appeared during an emergency appendectomy in 2007. The disease reappeared in 2011, when Scott announced on Twitter that he was undergoing chemotherapy. He never revealed what kind of cancer he was fighting, and told the New York Times in March that it was not colon cancer.
By the time the illness reemerged in December 2012, Scott began to share more public details about his plight. In January 2013, he told USA TODAY about his routine at the time, which included only missing his ESPN work days for chemotherapy treatments every other Monday, after which he'd go train at a mixed-martial arts gym.
"I can take this," he said at the time. "Deal with it easier than some people I see. So I think for the ones who can't punch a heavy bag, can't spar, who can't do any of that. I'll do it for you."
Scott's determination was well known to executives at ESPN long before his diagnosis. In 2002, Scott missed several months of work after his left eye was damaged by a football while he was working out with the New York Jets for an upcoming story. Due to previous problems with both eyes, including a right detached retina, Scott had to retrain his right eye to be his dominant eye, a task that presented a challenge when having to read from a teleprompter.
Scott is survived by his two daughters, Taelor, 19,and Sydni, 15, the latter of whom joined him onstage at the end of his ESPYs speech after he asked her to "come up here and give dad a hug because I need one."
While Scott thanked his bosses at ESPN during that memorable oration, he made it clear that there was no career moment that could ever surpass what he considered his life's best highlight.
"The best thing I have ever done, the best thing I will ever do," Scott said. "Is be a dad to Taelor and Sydni."
"Taelor and Sydni, I love you guys more than I will ever be able to express. You two are my heartbeat. I am standing here on this stage tonight because of you."
Source-USAToday
Andy Murray & Heather Watson give GB victory at Hopman Cup
Andy Murray made a winning start to his Australian campaign as Great Britain beat France 2-1 at the Hopman Cup.
On a day when the temperature in Perth peaked at 44C, Murray beat Benoit Paire 6-2 7-5 to give Britain an early lead over France at the mixed team event.
Heather Watson then lost 6-2 6-2 to Alize Cornet, before the Britons won the mixed doubles 6-4 2-6 10-8.
Britain will play Poland on Wednesday and Australia on Friday, with the group winners reaching Saturday's final.
The format guarantees all the players at least three singles matches as they prepare for the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 19 January.
"It was a bit of an eye-opener when we arrived at the practice court this morning and it was 44 degrees outside," said Murray, who arrived in Perth on Sunday after winning an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi.
"I'm from a small town in Scotland and the weather is not quite like that there. The conditions here are fantastic to get ready for Melbourne."
Murray, 27, had felt soreness in his left shoulder during the Abu Dhabi event and admitted he was still dealing with the issue.
"I had the problem in Abu Dhabi a couple of days ago and haven't had much time to serve after that," he said. "We flew straight from there and arrived yesterday.
"It doesn't really make sense for a right-handed player to have a problem with their left arm. So I am not sure exactly what it was and I had a scan in Abu Dhabi and that was all clear.
"But it's still a little bit sore today."
Source-BBC