Judge: Foreign Affairs Ministry, Children's Life Fund Authority acted unlawfully

A HIGH COURT JUDGE has ruled that the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs and the Children’s Life Fund Authority acted unlawfully by failing for years to meet statutory obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.

In separate rulings on December 15 and 16, Justice Robin Mohammed granted activist Hershael Ramesar several declarations, ordering the publication of statements from 2016 to 2021.

In the latest ruling involving the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mohammed found that the ministry breached mandatory publication duties under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the period 2016 through 2021 and rejected arguments that a later update cured those violations.

Ramesar had filed a judicial review claim challenging the ministry’s failure to publish annual statements detailing its functions, records, and policies as required by law.

“The Gazette serves an important official function, while newspapers remain a primary and practical means by which citizens access information on a daily basis. Failure to utilise both channels frustrates the purpose of ensuring broad and effective public access to information.”

Mohammed granted multiple declarations confirming that the ministry’s failures from 2016 to 2021 were unlawful and contrary to the policy of the Freedom of Information Act. He also issued orders of mandamus compelling the ministry to publish the outstanding information in compliance with sections 7, 8, and 9 within 30 days of the order. The ministry was ordered to pay costs to Ramesar, with costs to be assessed if not agreed.

In the matter involving the Children’s Life Fund Authority, the judge rejected the authority’s arguments that ministerial approval and executive policy excused the breaches.

Mohammed declared that the authority breached its statutory duties between 2016 and 2021, ordering it to publish the outstanding information within 30 days.

Ramesar brought the judicial review claim in February 2023, arguing that the authority failed to publish annual statements required under sections 7, 8, and 9 of the Freedom of Information Act, legislation designed to promote transparency and accountability among public bodies. The Children’s Life Fund Authority conceded it did not publish the statements for several years but maintained that it was unable to do so without ministerial approval.

Mohammed rejected that defence, holding that executive policy and the absence of ministerial approval cannot override a mandatory statutory obligation imposed by Parliament. “A public authority cannot avoid its statutory duties by pointing to the failure of another arm of the executive,” the judge said, adding that to accept such an argument would allow the effectiveness of the law to be defeated by inaction.

The court also dismissed the authority’s claim that publishing a single, updated statement in 2022 cured earlier noncompliance. Mohammed ruled that the Freedom of Information Act imposes annual obligations and that each year’s publication serves a distinct public purpose. Accepting the authority’s position, he said, would create a “perverse incentive” for public bodies to ignore the law for years and later claim compliance through a single disclosure.

As part of the order, the court issued multiple declarations that the authority acted unlawfully and ultra vires the Act for the period 2016 through 2021. It also granted orders of mandamus compelling the authority to publish the required statements and make documents available to the public in accordance with the law within 30 days.

The authority was further ordered to pay Ramesar’s legal costs, with costs to be assessed if not agreed by February 9, 2026.

Attorneys Jagdeo Singh, Vashisht Seepersad and Savitri Samaroo represented Ramesar. Michael Quamina, SC, and Leah Abdulah represented the authority, while Maria Belmar-Williams and Akeenie Murray represented the Foreign Affairs Ministry.