Visit UKSCJCPC/2018/0045
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COURT PROCEDURE
Smith and another (Appellants) v Attorney General of Trinidad & Tobago and others (Respondents) (Trinidad & Tobago)
Case summary
Case ID
JCPC/2018/0045
Jurisdiction
Trinidad and Tobago
Parties
Appellant(s)
John Henry Smith
Barbara Gomes
Respondent(s)
Attorney General of Trinidad & Tobago and others
Issue
Whether the Court of Appeal was entitled to conclude that the Chief Magistrate's ruling was not vitiated by the appearance of bias or by the deprivation of Smith and Gomes’ right to due process and a fair hearing.
Facts
Smith and Gomes (the "Appellants") were defendants in a preliminary inquiry relating to fraud and corruption-related offences arising from the awarding of contracts for the development and construction of the Piarco International Airport between 1997 and 2000. The preliminary inquiry took place between June 2002 and January 2008 and was conducted by the late Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls (the "Chief Magistrate").In December 2007, the Appellants and other defendants in the inquiry applied to the Chief Magistrate to recuse himself by reason of the appearance of bias, or alternatively, to refer the matter to the High Court for constitutional relief. The Chief Magistrate refused the applications and committed the Appellants and other defendants to stand trial in January 2008. No indictment has been filed since then and the trial has not taken place.The Appellants challenged the Chief Magistrate’s ruling on the recusal applications and other aspects of his conduct of the preliminary inquiry by way of judicial review and constitutional motion. Those proceedings were rejected by the High Court in 2009. They appealed to the Court of Appeal, which rejected their appeal in 2017.
Date of issue
16 April 2018
Judgment details
Judgment date
27 June 2022
Neutral citation
[2022] UKPC 28
Judgment links
Appeal
Justices
Hearing dates
Start date
16 March 2022
End date
16 March 2022
Watch hearings
16 March 2022 - Morning session
16 March 2022 - Afternoon session
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Last updated 9 May 2024