…President invoked executive order to grant respite

PRESIDENT David Granger, on Monday, issued a Grant of Respite to the judgment levied on the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan.

The judgment handed down on June 24, 2019 by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry states that the money owed to DIPCON engineering company, by the State, is to be paid on or before July 8, 2019.

Failing to do so, Minister will be liable to imprisonment for 21 days for criminal contempt of court by deliberately subverting the previous court order. Additionally, the order stipulates that a court cost of three million dollars be paid.

However, by virtue of the powers invested in the President under Article 188(1)(b) of the Constitution, and after consultation with the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs: “I hereby grant to Winston Jordan, in his personal capacity and as the Honourable Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament, a respite of the execution of the punishment imposed on him until all appeals and remedies available to him and the State have been exhausted,” the president outlined in the grant order.

This matter stemmed from an inherited State debt of US$2,228,400.67 to the Trinidadian construction company, who after not receiving its payment for contracts completed for the former administration, resorted to the court and judgment was granted in its favour.
In an interview with this newspaper, the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams SC said that the government is dissatisfied with the order of criminal contempt against the minister, and as such, will exercise its duty to protect against the dissatisfactory actions of the justice system.

Williams explained that the State would have been prejudiced by the Appellate Court, since the said court would have failed to constitute a panel to hear their application for stay in the substantive matter. This stay was to accommodate the hearing of the appeal of the judgment of Justice Rishi Persaud and the Oder of Mandamus by Chief Justice, Roxane George. It was due to the time of the hearing of the appeal case, that the company was able to build a case of contempt.

“So we have really been checkmated. And because of that checkmate, it allowed Timothy Jonas, DIPCON’s attorney, to go to the high court and contend that there is no stay of the order, therefore the order is breached and the minister is in contempt. But as we contended, the minister could not have been in contempt when there was no order that he has breached. And there is no previous order against Minister Jordan as a private person, all the orders are against the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, and the Minister of Finance,” the AG posited.

Adding that “We are desirous of pursuing our remedies… Because if they refuse, then we can go to the CCJ.”

Williams said that the position of the government is also grounded in the fact that no injunction or coercive order could be made against the state, which includes a government minister.

Sections of the State Liabilities and Proceedings Act, protection is of ministers and even judges, are provisioned for. “The law is very clear, so we are convinced that the minister could not have been personally sued for the debt of State,” he said.
In addition to the provisions in the Act, Williams implied that the order was bad in law, since it was that of a criminal contempt and should have taken a particular procedure, but that was not done.

“He [Jordan] hasn’t been asked to plead in that matter, which he would be required under the requirements of a criminal charge. He hasn’t been personally served with the proceedings. In all the circumstances, the State believes that we have a duty. We’re convinced that we have a good case at the appeal. We have not been able to get a hearing of the appeal… And you must remember that this case was outsourced from since 2008,” the AG pointed out.