The Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue (Respondent) v Finbar Boland and 15 others (Appellants) (Trinidad and Tobago)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2022/0028

Jurisdiction

Trinidad and Tobago

Parties

Appellant(s)

Finbar Boland

Dhanmatie Gosine

Catherine Graham

Mona Sookdeo-Baptiste

Esther Ann Black

Suresh Ramlal

Richard Ramkission

Lester Subnail

Rehana Deosaran

Ann Ramcharan-Badahur

Derek Hutchinson

Respondent(s)

The Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue

Issue

Was the Court of Appeal wrong to find that the minimum requirements for an acting appointment to Field Auditor III include that the officer possess a professional accountancy qualification?

Facts

This appeal concerns the criteria for appointment to the post of Field Auditor III in the Inland Revenue Division, Trinidad and Tobago. The criteria for eligibility to a permanent promotion to that post included a professional accounting qualification. The appellants were officers in the lower position of Field Auditor II and lacked the relevant qualification, but contended that they were eligible for appointment to act in the higher position, and complained that they had been overlooked.In the High Court, the judge held that the appellants had been unfairly overlooked for acting appointments and granted a declaration that the respondent must consider recommending the appellants for any future promotions, as well as awarding compensation. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the criteria for permanent promotion to the post of Field Auditor III applied also to acting appointments, meaning that the appellants were not eligible. The appellants now appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Date of issue

9 March 2022

Judgment details

Judgment date

18 July 2023

Neutral citation

[2023] UKSC 27

Judgment links

Appeal

Justices

Lord Kitchin

Lord Sales

Lord Burrows

Lady Rose

Lord Richards

Hearing dates

Start date

13 June 2023

End date

13 June 2023

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