PRESENTATION ADDRESS
by
HON. RHONDALEE BRAITHWAITE KNOWLES
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
TO THE GRADUATES
EUGENE DUPUCH LAW SCHOOL
NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS
SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER, 2015

 

PROTOCOL

1) Her Excellency, Dame Marguerite Pindling, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas

2) The Honourable Mr. Justice Stephen Isaacs, Acting Chief Justice

3) Senator, the Honourable Allyson Maynard-Gibson QC, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas

4) Senator, the Honourable Sharon Wilson, President of the Senate

5) Justices of the Court of Appeal and spouses

5) Justices of the Supreme Court and spouses

6) Ms. Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, QC, Chairperson of the Council of Legal Education

7) Mrs. Tonya Bastian Galanis, principal of the Eugene Dupuch Law School, Mrs. …, principal of the Norman Manley Law School and Mrs. Miriam Samaru, principal of the Hugh Wooding Law School

8) Mr. Ellison Greenslade, Commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force

9) Madam Permanent Secretary, Director of Legal Affairs and other senior Government Officials

11) Faculty and Staff of the Eugene Dupuch Law School

10) Graduating Class of 2015

11) Distinguished guests 

12) Ladies and gentlemen

 

INTRODUCTION

As a member of the first class of graduates from this venerable institution, it is a great honour to have been invited to speak to you on the occasion of the presentation of this fifteenth batch of graduates and I thank Mrs. Tonya Bastian Galanis and her staff for this honour.  That first class of graduates comprised only 10 persons and I was the only non-Bahamian in the bunch.  Some may say that I have sought to rectify that matter by marrying a Bahamian.  To see a class of some 33 from the two year programme and 3 from the six-month programme is very encouraging.

All these years later, there remains the sting, of one Mr. Keith Bell, outpacing Timothy Eneas and me by one point and capturing the top spot.  I learned from that the valuable lesson of knowing the importance of a single point and consistency in small choices.  I recall also the anticipation in the atmosphere at our presentation ceremony at Government House that we were going to stamp our marks in our individual callings.  I see now that we have two senators in the persons of Senators the Honourable Keith Bell and Tanisha Tynes and we boast of being partners in established law firms, in the person of Timothy Eneas, as an example, as well as the first local, first female and youngest Attorney General of the Turks and Caicos Islands to name just a few accomplishments of that first class.   When I arrived in the Bahamas, those many years ago, the school had no name, no offices and no library and only a small cadre of staff.  I arrived in the Bahamas, as instructed by the Counsel of Legal Education, with a letter of acceptance from the Norman Manley Law School and at the airport the Immigration Officers hadn't heard about a law school starting in Nassau asked me if I was sure that I was in the right country.  We all understood then the full meaning of the expression “being treated like a guinea pig”.  But we made it through and there is a sense of pride in having been a part of the history of this institution from its very start.

Yet so many years later, Graduates, when I contemplated this opportunity to speak into your lives, I wanted to speak to you about something that was relevant to your lives at this point in time; words which you could usefully recall from time to time as you journey through your legal careers. Ideals that could help to shape the choices you would make so that you would become good attorneys and better people.  I’m sure that you would have by now heard so many graduation speeches containing good measures of warnings, exhortations, affirmations and countless words of wisdom thrown in with care and deliberation so much so that you could possibly predict every word that I could say.

So I started to ponder the purpose of graduation speeches and graduation ceremonies themselves.   Why are we here today in this beautiful setting and why should there be a presentation address at all?  Well the reason must be that you have accomplished something worth celebrating.  This is a tremendous accomplishment and you should feel proud and motivated to even higher heights.  You have achieved a goal and there should be a marker placed along your life’s journey to commemorate this accomplishment.  It is important because it is an accomplishment the effect of which resonates not only in your lives as individuals but in the lives of your families and the wider community.

Indeed the motto of the Eugene Dupuch law school is "Excellence in Legal Education and Commitment to Social Service".

With these thoughts in mind I decided to speak to you today about ideals that have deep meaning in my own life; the importance of setting goals and accomplishing them and being good citizens.  Of course there are very important personal reasons for having goals but there is a greater higher importance. That is, collectively we as members of our regional society and in particular as members of the legal fraternity which you are about to join, are responsible for the growth and development of it.  

Whatever your particular circumstances and how you have come to be here tonight, you have a responsibility to contribute something for your presence here and graduates your earlier decision to enter upon a course of study in legal education, to learn and to study hard and ultimately to pass so that you would be certified today, are indications that you are aware of your responsibilities.

An occasion such as this is a wonderful way for you to recognize and celebrate the choices, and sometimes the sacrifices you have made.  I must congratulate you on your accomplishment today and to your parents, family members and in some cases spouses for striving over many years to achieve this accomplishment, sometimes at great sacrifice.  You all share in the accomplishments of these graduates.

CONTEXT

Graduates, you and I are products of a real struggle for economic growth and social development here in the context of our regional community which is still referred to as the third world or the developing world.  There is still the reality of continuing growth, of incompletion, of a continuing reach for an economic, social, cultural and fully developed conclusion by global standards even as Sister States and territories in OUR Caribbean community, through organisations like Caricom, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and others, strive for greater integration and urgent cooperation, not only in this region but around the world.  Each nation on its own is struggling to survive the debilitating forces of comity, of poverty and of social and economic divisiveness, in that struggle each country stands in urgent need of the input, the talent and the specifically disciplined capabilities of each of its citizens.  Its qualified sector who are trained to understand and to tackle and to conquer the challenges of this century.  This is particularly true of the qualified sector and specifically attorneys, who are unrivaled among the professions for our ability to influence our society’s future.  This reality means that you and I play central roles in achieving sustainable development in our beloved region.

I note with interest that this class introduces to our society 36 citizens newly qualified to be attorneys at law.  The impact of a group of this size cannot be denied.  But what impact do you intend to have on our society by virtue of your citizenship?

Graduates, our society needs you to be good citizens.  You may feel that you are already a good citizen simply by choosing to join the legal profession but there is more required of you.

It can be said that there are four core attributes of a good citizen: education, leadership, community service, and character. The most important thing to remember is that each of these characteristics is the sum of many individual decisions. They embody a positive attitude backed by purpose. The only way to achieve your purpose is to take small actions every day. In the end, they all add up. 

Those individual decisions, those small actions every day, is where your focus should always be — doing your best in every small or big job that you are entrusted to do. Whether you are an associate in a private firm, a crown counsel in the public sector, a sole practitioner, the Senior Crown counsel, the partner, the Attorney General or anything else. 

Nothing else matters but completing the tasks entrusted to you in that role, and doing it well. Every day. Even when it’s hard. Even when it feels like drudgery. Even when it’s boring. Even when the work appears to be small and unimportant and beneath your professional qualifications and experience and God-given talent. It means being the one who can be counted on to get the job done, even when no one is looking or keeping score and there does not appear to be an immediate reward.

If you do that, not only the next task entrusted to you, but your entire career, will take care of itself.  My hope for you is that you will cultivate this attitude backed by purpose as a core goal in your own life as you consider what role you play in the development of our society.

Education, leadership, community service, and character

EDUCATION

Education is much more than just getting straight As or collecting degrees. It is a life-long love of learning. As you know, to accomplish anything you need to work hard, be determined and show dedication in order to realize a brighter future.  In the end it is a sum of small choices. Each time you decide you WANT to learn something; the experience will be so rewarding that the next time it becomes easier.

Soon learning becomes a habit. At that point, your desire to learn about the world around you makes accomplishing educational goals easier. Suddenly the world around you becomes much richer and full of learning opportunities.  Your education continues throughout your life and will never end.

And so as I speak to you today I applaud you for not taking for granted the opportunity supplied by the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the Council of Legal Education to study at relatively little or no personal expense. I implore you not to leave here and demand that you immediately become the boss or get the top position, as if through inheritance but to further invest in the development of your future potential by being employed in positions in the public or private sector which allow for an enviable depth of exposure and opportunity to put to use and develop your legal skills which will enable you to participate in a substantial way in the sustainable development of our society. I am a product of such investment and I can testify to the success of this approach.

Too often we hear stories of persons who squander the educational, professional and economic opportunities before them foolishly thinking that family, social or political ties will be able to see them through.  There is something to be said for delayed gratification and the realisation of a hard fought goal.

The ability to succeed at a goal exists in every human being either in a state of activity or passivity.  It is said that the state of passivity exists in those who have not yet realised that they have the ability to attain the goals of which they dream.  The state of activity on the other hand exists in those who have realised their potential and are in the process of achieving their goals.  Trite though it may sound the key to success is comprehensively summarised in the words aspiration, inspiration and perspiration.  

Aspiration in this context refers to the dream or goal a person sets – this is the mental map of where you would like to go in life – it provides the intangible core which compels one to success.  

Inspiration on the other hand is the will to succeed.  It may arise from God or from a desire to be better or make a difference.  

Perspiration is the essential and practical ingredient which enables one to achieve his or her core goals.  

I submit to you graduates that you are examples of success – you aspired to achieve the legal education certificate you have been presented today, inspired by God and your loved ones and you have worked hard to achieve this goal and that is why you are sitting here today.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is not about being elected or appointed to a position. A position will not teach you how to be a leader. Leadership is an attitude cultivated over time.

Are you one to stand up for what you believe in and 'face the music' even when that music happens to be unpleasant or unpopular? Do you have a purpose and follow that purpose to get the ends you desire? Do you have a vision? These are all questions that true leaders answer in the affirmative. 

But how do you become a leader?

As an attorney you will have many opportunities to exhibit true leadership and to choose to stand up for what you know and what you have been taught to be the right thing.  You will need to show true determination and dedication to be a leader and not to simply settle for being a follower.

To paraphrase the words of the current US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Pretinder Bharara, at a similar exercise at Columbia University school of law recently, -- "Be not just a good lawyer, but a good person and find opportunities to be good to other people".  In fairly short order, you will be perched at the very pinnacles of power, counseling some of the most influential people in [our region and perhaps] the world — people with the power to [affect the course of our destiny, people with the power to pass laws and direct our economies]. “Some of you may even assume positions that give you that kind of power directly."

"And when you get there, you will have a choice: you can choose to be either a leader or a lemming.

A leader is a person of courage and action, with integrity and an independent mind.

A lemming is a small and unattractive rodent that will follow other unattractive rodents off a cliff. Choose to be the former.

Always remember that, as a lawyer, you are not an ordinary professional."

Each small decision you make takes you one step closer. Remember the goal is not to get power, but to get your vision and your purpose across. Leaders without visions are like going somewhere strange without any directions: you are going to wind up somewhere; it just might not be in the best part of town.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

In each generation before you the best and the brightest among us have been required to step forward and to make a difference, to fill that community’s order for qualified doctors, teachers, hotel managers, nurses, artists, entrepreneurs and simply intelligent people who are committed to play the role of a good citizen and to play that role with effect and conviction.  Unfortunately each time that national and community call came there were far too many of those considered the best and the brightest who could not rise to the occasion who could not meet the challenge even though they possessed the necessary education and skills they failed to rise to the occasion.  In that failing they did not only short-change our community, their friends and families which needed them but they cheated themselves of the wonderful opportunity to serve their friends and family and our community with distinction.

Many see community service as a means to an end. Some might see it as a way to get service points while socializing, while others may view it as a burden. But is that true community service?

Once again true community service is an attitude. Are you doing it for the right reasons?  It is not easy to serve people who are different from you or who do not run in your social circles or who look at the world very differently from you.

What I'm talking about is that in the end, when it is all done, and you are once again well-rested, you can look back and realize that you did something worthwhile. That you helped your community in some way. That there is great value in working to make your community better just because you live and work here.  

Indeed, as I Peter 4:10 says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

CHARACTER

Finally, character.

If there is any one thing that is evidenced by your daily choices it is your character.  Character is taking tough decisions and sometimes standing alone.  Jesus Christ stood alone and was very unpopular among his peers so that they eventually killed him but he knew what he was sent to do and he showed true character by standing his ground and doing what he knew was best and that in the end the world would know; Graduates, it is my experience that through prayer, Jesus can help you to have that same strength of character.

I truly believe what Thomas Macaulay said, "The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out."

What do you do when no one's around? When entrusted with a task, do you do it to the best of your ability or do you simply pay lip service to the ideals of “excellence” and “commitment”.  There may not be a chance of being caught!

What do you do when you are the only person who knows that a payment has been made by a client?  Do you take it and thank God for his blessings because he knew that you really needed that money.

The answer to this question is the key to your true character.  For while being honest and honourable when others are watching is important, being true to yourself is the most important thing of all.  

Remember that God is always watching.

And in the end, these private day-to-day decisions will eventually reveal your true character to the world. 

PAUSE

All in all, is it worth it to make tough choices?  Yes.

While it would be easier to slide through life without a purpose, without a code, it would not be a happy life and it would not serve our community. Only by setting difficult goals and achieving them can we find true self-worth and be good citizens.

For one thing you can make certain that you have in addition to your education the right mindset for service. For another thing you can make certain that you cultivate a will to win; that you set for yourselves a particular personal lofty goal that no matter what happens along the way no matter what distraction that you will never, never deviate from this goal.

One final thing, each person's goals are different, and what comes easy to one may be difficult for another. Sitting beside you are 35 other future attorneys but not all will find the same path or make their contribution in the same way.  Some will practice law and others will utilize their legal skills in other fields. Let me assure you that our society needs each one of you to be successful in your chosen field and all are valuable to our growth and development.  Therefore, do not trample on others' dreams, our society will need all of you. A surefire way of knowing that you aren't working towards fulfilling your own goals is being busy tearing down someone else’s dream.

Look around you in this forum amongst all your friends, colleagues and family and tell me what you see today and tell me if you will not find there a myriad of excellence and achievements then find your own goal for excellence and commit yourself to conquering it with all your might.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, graduates, I wish to once again, bring to your attention the motto of what is now your alma mater which states “Excellence in Legal Education and Commitment to Social Service”.  Excellence and Commitment are key terms in that motto and I encourage you to allow these key words to ring true in your professional lives on a daily basis.  May they be your guiding principles to be applied to all of your choices whether big or small.

I congratulate you on your accomplishments over the course of these two years or six months as a group and individually. This day marks a transition, a gradual change and an elevation but it also reminds you of your increasing responsibility to each other, to your country and to our beloved region.  I encourage you to look around you and study the faces of your colleagues and think about your own goals.  You hold our future in your hands and this Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and indeed our entire region, need you to be good citizens. 

Enjoy yourselves tonight, and remember “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”  

Choose your destiny and together we will achieve a bright future!

Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for your attention.

 

WELCOME REMARKS

BY

THE HONOURABLE RHONDALEE BRAITHWAITE-KNOWLES OBE,

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

MADE AT

CFATF 10^TH COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE

THE REGENT PALMS TURKS AND CAICOS,

GRACE BAY, PROVIDENCIALES,

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

23^RD – 24^TH MARCH 2015

I welcome and thank persons from across the Caribbean region and here at home, including the Hon. Garvin Nicholas, newly appointed Attorney General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for taking time from their very busy schedules to join this conference to discuss compliance with the FATF standard as we have commenced the 4th round of mutual evaluations with Trinidad and Tobago heading the list. This 10^th Compliance Conference is one of the many regional efforts underway to achieve the call of the former Chair of the CFATF, the Attorney General of the Bahamas Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson for all CFATF members to emerge at least 75% compliant from this 4^th round of mutual evaluation.

This 10^th Compliance Conference is being held here on Providenciales whilst at the same time that the Budget session begins in the House of Assembly on Grand Turk and unfortunately, along with the Premier and other Cabinet colleagues, those activities demand attention.  But the Government’s commitment to these important initiatives remains unwavering.

I wish to thank the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and the newly established Financial Intelligence Agency of the Turks and Caicos Islands for partnering with me to host this 10^th Compliance Conference under the theme: ¨Keeping in step with regulatory requirements as the Standards evolve”

The CFATF pursues the objective of achieving effective compliance with and implementation of the FATF Standards to prevent and control money laundering and to combat the financing of terrorism. In that regard, the Anti-Money Laundering Committee in conjunction with the CFATF are preparing the national framework for the upcoming fourth Mutual Evaluation of the AML/CFT system of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which will measure the effectiveness of the TCIs efforts in countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism.  Similar exercises are going on around the region, with Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados have their assessments already underway.

This Compliance Conference provides an opportunity for training to all the agencies and representatives of the public and private sector that would allow them to face the challenges of the 4th Mutual Evaluation.   Additionally, participants will be provided with an in-depth and practical learning experience while encouraging participation in honest dialogue with key parties from different segments of the complex world of anti-money laundering risk management.

This conference features International and local experts in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism field who will make presentations on the new Financial Action Task Force Standards; discuss Risk Assessments, Customer Due Diligence, Supervision, Challenges for the TCI and the most relevant trends and topics that all stakeholders in the AML/CFT industry need to be aware of.

As you know, with the increasing globalisation and liberalisation, money laundering and terrorist financing have become global phenomena. They pose real and significant threats to nations, their people, their financial systems and their security apparatus, no matter the makeup of the economy or the size of the country. All nations, particularly small and developing jurisdictions are susceptible to disruption from criminal and terrorist activities.

Corruption, money laundering and its associated economic and financial crimes tend to impact and undermine good governance and rule of law, which are core values of the Regional constitutions.

The FATF 40 Recommendations are widely accepted as one of the most useful international countermeasures designed against money laundering and terrorist financing: their implementation increase transparency and enable countries to successfully take action against illicit use of their financial system. The FATF Recommendations set out a comprehensive and consistent framework of measures which countries should implement in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Countries have diverse legal, administrative and operational frameworks and different financial systems, and so cannot all take identical measures to counter these threats.

The FATF Recommendations, therefore, set an international standard, which countries should implement through measures adapted to their particular circumstances.

It is well known that a well regulated financial services sector has a direct relationship to a successful investment sector.  The private sector and the public sector should be seen to be espousing a national and regional view that criminals should not be allowed to launder their ill-gotten funds and when such funds are confiscated, they should never access them again. Fighting financial crime in the region is an imperative for all of us.

The revised 2012 FATF Recommendations require the national and international regulatory and investment community to focus on the regional legislative and regulatory infrastructure with particular emphasis on effective implementation of the relevant risks associated with our respective regulatory infrastructure, in accordance with international standards.

The Turks and Caicos Islands is set to be evaluated again soon and work has begun on a National Risk Assessment which requires both public and private sector participation.

This is the context in which this 10^th Compliance Conference has been organized and as Chair of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee, I am grateful for your participation as clearly an awareness of AML/CFT requirements is central to much of the work undertaken by all of the stakeholders represented in this room.

Finally, please join me in thanking the Turks and Caicos organizing team, especially Inspector Dwyane Baker, head of the Financial Intelligence Agency and Ms. Tanisha Williams from my Chambers and the Secretariat for organizing this Compliance Conference.

Thank you all for coming to this 10^th Compliance Conference in The Turks and Caicos Islands and I anticipate your constructive contributions.

Thank you.

 

Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles

Attorney General

Speech By the Hon. Attorney General on the Opening of the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands for the 2015 Session

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 31^st 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 maintenance 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.

 

Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, OBE

Attorney General

5^th January 2015