ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

Legal Report by the Hon. Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE QC on the ceremonial sitting to mark the Opening of the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands for the Year 2021

May it please you my Lady Chief Justice Agyemang,

My Lord Mr. Justice Aziz,

My Lady Mrs. Justice Lobban-Jackson,

My Lord Mr. Justice Harrison,

Introduction and Protocol – I am pleased to rise once again at your invitation to move the motion for the ceremonial sitting marking the Opening of the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands for the year 2021.

My Lady with your leave, I would wish to recognize the presence of the specially invited guests –

HE the Governor Mr. Nigel Dakin CMG

HE the Deputy Governor Mrs. Anya Williams MBE

Hon. Karen Malcolm, Minister of Education, Youth, Social and Library Services

Hon. Akierra Missick, former Member of the House of Assembly

Hon. Mr. Justice of Appeal Stollmeyer, President of the Court of Appeal and justices of the Court of Appeal

Hon. Chief Magistrate Mr. Jolyon Hatmin and resident Magistrates

The Director of Public Prosecutions Mr. Eugene Otuonye QC

The Acting President of the Bar Council Ms. Sarah Knight

The Doyen of the Bar Mr. Ariel Misick QC

Members of the Senior Bar and colleagues at the public bar and private bar

The Registrar and members of the Court staff

The Commissioner of Police Mr. Trevor Botting

Deacon Scott Jupp

My Lady, some nine months following your appointment of Chief Justice, I am pleased to publicly welcome you to the Turks and Caicos Islands, congratulate you on your appointment and wish you every success in your tenure as Chief Justice in these islands.

With my Lady’s leave, I propose in moving this motion, to reflect on 2020 as well as to make a few observations on some of the work before us for 2021.

Covid-19 – The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the lives and livelihood of Turks and Caicos Islanders for much of 2020 and brought so many changes and challenges to our working lives that were all but impossible to foresee when we were marking this occasion at the start of last year.

It has utterly changed the world of work. Across the Turks and Caicos Islands and the world, workplaces and practices have had to adapt to a new norm of having to work from home to contain and control the spread of the virus while many other front line workers have continued to carry out their jobs under extremely risky conditions.

In the legal arena, the main challenge posed by the pandemic has been to ensure that the administration of justice does not grind to a halt as a result of the lockdown, curfew and social distancing measures imposed to contain and control it. Consequently, significant efforts have been made to ensure progress in legal proceedings, despite the constraints with priority focus being to ensure continued timely access to justice for all members of the public while at the same time ensuring their safety and that of court staff.

In this vein, with the strong support of the Cabinet, my Chambers assisted the Court with the carriage through the Cabinet and the House of Assembly of Emergency Powers Regulations to enable Court Proceedings to continue, an amendment to the Jury Ordinance to enable augmented procedures for the conduct of jury trials, and the ground breaking Court Live Link (Remote Participation) Ordinance 2020 to modernize the law to allow for remote participation in proceedings before all courts and tribunals in the Islands in both civil and criminal matters. In moving these initiatives through, we have had to be innovative, consultative and collaborative. Despite the very fraught nature of some of our early exchanges and a legal challenge that reached the Privy Council, with the strong collaboration amongst the judicial administration, the bar, the Office of the DPP and my Chambers, we got there.

The inevitable increased role of technology in access to justice has been brought into sharp focus as a result of Covid-19 and I am excited about the opportunities before us.

Synergies – My Lady, the importance of synergy between the various stakeholders of the justice system cannot be understated and through the work of the Criminal Justice Stakeholders’ Group comprising the Judiciary, the ODPP, the RTCIPF, Social Development, HMP, and my Chambers, under your leadership we saw the inclusion of representatives of the Bar in the work of the group creating greater synergies and promoting mutual respect and understanding. With the strong engagement of HE the Governor who has committed to championing additional resources from the United Kingdom to support the shared strategy and action plan to address key deficiencies in the administration of justice in the Islands, I remain confident in the growing usefulness of this still recent initiative.

My Chambers – My Lady, my Chambers has kept to our promise of proactively work with key stakeholders across Government to develop sound legal solutions. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank former Deputy Attorney General Dr. Michael Dillon and the Heads of each Division (Khalila Astwood, Desiree Downes, Yaa McCartney and Clemar Hippolyte) for their hard work and determination over the course of a very challenging year. My Lady, I am pleased to report that the provision of legal services continued uninterrupted by Covid-19 with teams working from home and ably adapting to the challenges of virtual working life despite some personal challenges.

My Lady, by 24th December 2020 when the House of Assembly was dissolved, my Legislative Drafting division had produced 38 Ordinances and 141 Legal Notices.

Notable new legislation included –

1. The Notary Public Ordinance 2020

2. The Vulnerable Witnesses Ordinance 2020 (ground breaking legislation to provide a legal framework for the protection of vulnerable witnesses)

3. The Sexual Offences Ordinance 2020

4. The Defence Ordinance 2020(Ground breaking in the area of increased national security)

5. The Court Live Link (Remote Participation) Ordinance 2020.

Notable subsidiary legislation included –

1. The Civil Procedures Fees Order 2020

2. The Children (Care and Protection) Regulations 2020

3. The Prisons (Control and Use of Equipment) Regulations 2020 (To address issues of management and control at the prison. For the supply, control, use and accountability of personal protective equipment (taser guns, pepper spray, body worn cameras) supplied to Prison Officers.

My Lady, it will come as no surprise that Covid-19 dominated legal notices amounting to 48% of the 141 legal notices made in 2020; with 36 emergency powers regulations (representing 25% of the legal notices made) or 32 public health regulations (representing 23 % of legal notices).

My International Division continued to improve the TCI's compliance with its international obligations, including –

1. Coordinating follow-up actions nationwide recommended by the CFATF Mutual Evaluation Report published on 20 January 2020;

2. Providing an expert assessor for the Cayman Islands CFATF Mutual Evaluation Follow up Report;

3. Obtaining Cabinet’s approval for a revised anti money laundering committee structure, three year budget and strategy with supporting amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Ordinance;

4. The introduction and issues of 110 Financial Sanctions Notices (FSNs) in relation to individuals and entities that subject to financial sanctions under the UN, UK and EU sanctions lists – all without delay.

5. Delivery of training initiatives to improve the level of understanding of the FATF Anti- Money laundering and Combating of Financing of Terrorism standards and requirements, amongst key stakeholders:

1. A three day Human Trafficking Training session for immigration, employment services and Police in March 2020 in collaboration with the Ministry of Immigration; and

2. A three day training session in collaboration with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in November 2020 for the Police, Customs, Immigration and the Integrity Commission.

6. Participation in virtual trainings on Trade-based Money Laundering, Asset Recovery and the Detection of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Relation to Covid-19.

7. Reviewing international agreements and MoUs such as the proposed Shiprider Agreement and MoU to promote cooperation between the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas which are in late stage final review by the United Kingdom before being signed.

8. Processing mutual legal assistance requests, extradition matters and the extension of international conventions to the TCI.

9. Participation in a project to modernise all major aspects of maritime law to bring the TCI’s laws in line with many key IMO instruments and conventions.

My commercial division had another busy year producing –

1. 169 Agreements (development agreements, goods and service contracts, leases, and licences) and 10 MoUs.

2. Out of the 169, 3 development agreements were executed within this financial year and 3 finalised awaiting execution with a number of others still under negotiation.

3. The Division assisted in processing over 200 applications relating to First-time home owners, Covid-19 Stamp Duty Policy, and Covid-19 Stimulus programme.

My Civil litigation division remained busy with an increase in serious litigation matters and in this regard, I want to single out the work done by three outside counsel in collaboration with my Chambers on matters of great importance to Government whose skillful assistance deserves special recognition – Andrew Mitchell QC and the team who offered their services to my Chambers pro bono; Stephen Wilson QC in respect of certain sensitive litigation matters and Laurence Harris and his team in respect of some civil recovery matters.

Training Opportunities – My Lady, through the ongoing collaboration with the Office of the DPP, we once again did our part to promote the training and admission of local attorneys with the support of HE the Deputy Governor. Through this initiative, we completed the post qualification training of Ms. Angie Been and anticipate the support of the Bar for her general admission later this month.

Farewells – My Lady, I pause to acknowledge the legacy of the Hon. Mr. Justice of Appeal Sir Elliott Mottley, former President of the Court of Appeal who stepped down as President in 2020 following a long and illustrious career at the Bar and on the Court of Appeal Bench in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I also thank the former Hon. Resident Magistrate Kamar Anderson who moved on in 2020. I wish to publicly congratulate my Lady Justice Lobban-Jackson on her elevation and Hon. Hatmin on his appointment as Chief Magistrate as well as former President of the Bar Council Mrs. Selver-Gardiner on her upcoming appointment as Hon. Resident Magistrate.

CONCLUSION

This morning’s ceremonial opening of the legal year is not just about keeping traditions, especially in the context of the challenges presented by Covid-19, it is important for the members of the public to see the judicial administration and the legal fraternity, as key stakeholders in the administration of justice to take stock of the year that has been, and to foreshadow the necessary work for the year ahead as well as to collectively pray for guidance at the start of the legal term and to re-affirm our commitment to upholding the rule of law and defending access to justice for the people of our islands.

My Lady, as law officers, we stand in full support of the work of the court and wish you, my Lord Justice Aziz, my Lady Justice Lobban-Jackson, my Lord Justice Harrison, my Lord President of the Court of Appeal and the Justices of Appeal, the Honourable Magistrates, the Hon. Registrar and the entire judicial administration 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 2020.

May it so please the Court.

Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, OBE QC

Hon. Attorney General

4th January 2021

Attorney General's Chambers

 

Speech by the Hon. Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE QC at the Special (Valedictory) Sitting of the Court of Appeal in honour of the retirement of the President of the Court of Appeal the Hon. Justice Sir Elliott Mottley KCMG, Q.C., LL.D

May it please you my Lord President of the Court of Appeal.

My Lord, with your leave, I recognize my Lady the Hon. Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands and wish to accept the protocol recognised by her in her speech.

My Lord, it is right and proper for a grateful nation to take the time to reflect on your the long and distinguished legal contribution to our Islands and to our Region. In this regard, I welcome and support the remarks made by our Honourable Premier this morning in her speech.

It is noteworthy My Lord that you have served no less than three of our sister Overseas Territories in Bermuda and Cayman along with our islands at the appellate level of the court and at critical times in the development of all of our jurisdictions; delivering landmark judgments across the Overseas Territories; and throughout the Region, having also served in the Courts of Appeal in Barbados and Belize as well. All of these appointments point to a strong and long legacy of enviable regional service which can be claimed by only a very few attorneys in our Region.

On the announcement of the 1999 White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories, it was said that –

“To ensure development is sustainable, we need to make sure that the basic pillars are in place.

These pillars were identified in the White Paper.

They are: good governance, including the rule of law; protection of the natural environment; and human rights.

Without this firm underpinning, sustainable development will not be achieved.”

My Lord, these words reveal the truth of the matter. We are products of a real struggle for economic growth and social development here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and also in the context of the wider Caribbean community. 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 strive for greater integration and urgent cooperation, not only here 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 particularly its qualified youth who are trained to understand and to tackle and to conquer the challenges of this century.

This reality means that key stakeholders play central roles in achieving sustainable development in our beloved country. A key stakeholder is without doubt the Court of Appeal. As recognised by the former Chief Justice of these Islands My Lady Justice Ramsey Hale during the opening of the Legal Year in January and now repeated by our Governor His Excellency Nigel Dakin in his speech this morning - without a transparent, efficient and effective judiciary, willing to tackle some of the most challenging issues faced by our communities, the desired economic reality will not be achieved.

My Lord, your achievements over the past 17 years of judicial service in these islands are important steps toward making your contribution to the development of our country and are worthy of being honoured here today.

Over the 17 years of my Lord Justice Mottley’s tenure, the Turks and Caicos Islands Court of Appeal and the islands as a whole have benefited from your wit, insight, erudition and wisdom. The recitation of some of the landmark judgements cited by My Lady the Hon. Chief Justice Agyemang in her speech are but a few of the judgments that will ensure that the influence of my Lord Justice Mottley will long be felt in the continuing development of these Islands. It is noteworthy that in my Lord’s valedictory judgment after such a long and illustrious career spanning no less than 59 years, would be a guiding light into the modern era in that it establishes the precedent that the court should perform its functions and provides its services in a manner that ensures justice is done using the available technology or whatever tools are available to ensure the good and proper administration of justice and fairness are maintained in the public interest. 

Those of us who had the privilege to appear before you my Lord, over the years will fondly remember your good humour and patience and sometimes, impatience with our submissions. I can recall my first fumbly appearance before you in the Court of Appeal and your patient and wise guidance which have made a valuable contribution to the ongoing development of my own legal career. My Lord has certainly shaped the jurisprudential landscape of the Turks and Caicos Islands through your judgements but also for many of us at the Bar through your exemplary legal service. I feel a personal connection with him as my father is also from Barbados and upon learning of the retirement of Justice Mottley made a point of asking me to mention his good wishes.

My Lord, may I personally thank you for your contribution to these Turks and Caicos Islands and for your stellar service over our entire Region as detailed by Hon. Mr Justice Barnett, Chair of the Judicial Service Commission and by His Excellency the Governor Nigel Dakin in their speeches this morning. I want to thank you my Lord for your personal encouragement and wisdom and kindness shown to me in this office and as a member of the Bar. My Lord, I wish to thank, through you, your lovely wife Amor and your family for their sacrifice in giving you the necessary support to enable you to make such an outstanding commitment to these islands over the years.

Although we are marking your retirement my Lord, as one of our justices of appeal and as President, I understand that you will continue to be actively in private practice in Barbados and we therefore look forward to the rest of the story and to continued collaboration. As they say in the movies, to be continued.

May God bless you my Lord.

May it so please the Court.

 

Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, OBE QC

Hon. Attorney General

7th December 2020

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands

Monday 20^th January 2020

PRESS RELEASE

Joint press release from, His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Nigel Dakin, the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance, Investment and Trade, Mrs. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and the Anti-Money Laundering Committee

CFATF finds that the TCI has made significant progress in its technical compliance but more work is required on effectiveness

In a Press Conference on Monday 20^th January 2020, His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Nigel Dakin, and the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson along with the Members of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee (“AMLC”) established under the Proceeds of Crime Ordinance (“POCO”), announced the publication by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force ("CFATF") of their Mutual Evaluation Report into Anti-Money Laundering ("AML") and Counter-Terrorist Financing ("CFT") measures in the Turks and Caicos Islands (the "Report"). 

The CFATF evaluated the measures in place in the Turks and Caicos Islands as at the date of their onsite visit (September 2018).  The Report analyses the level of compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations, the level of effectiveness of the Turks and Caicos Islands' AML/CFT system, and provides recommendations on how the regime could be strengthened.

In general, the Report found that there are structural elements in place for an effective AML/CFT system, including that–

 

1. The TCI is politically stable and has demonstrated a high-level commitment in addressing ML/TF issues; and

 

2. The rule of law is effective, and the Judiciary is capable and independent.

The above structural elements for an effective AML/CFT system provide confidence to the business sector operating within the TCI and those interested in investing in the TCI that the Turks and Caicos Islands, as a member of the international financial community, is committed to implementing and maintaining an appropriate, effective, and risk-based framework and strategy.

The Report noted that the TCI has a fair understanding of its money laundering risks based on its National Risk Assessment, prepared in collaboration with the private sector and that since the last Mutual Evaluation in 2008, the TCI has progressively advanced its legislative framework to address gaps in the country’s AML/CFT framework.

An Anti-Money Laundering Committee established under POCO, and chaired by the Hon. Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE QC (AMLC), coordinates Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) risk assessments and national AML/CFT policies. In the months preceding the on-site visit, the TCI made a significant number of amendments to its AML/CFT laws and other subsidiary legislation and issued guidance notes. More than fifteen pieces of legislation were implemented. 

Technical compliance

The Report recognises that the legislative measures implemented by the TCI have significantly enhanced its technical compliance framework and the TCI has been rated Compliant on 15 recommendations, Largely Complaint on a further 9 and Partially Compliant on 16 of the 40 recommendations.

Effectiveness

Similar to the TCI, all countries around the world undergoing this 4^th round FATF Mutual Evaluations are confronting new standards on ‘Effectiveness Ratings’ and have experienced substantial challenges in ensuring that ‘sufficient progress’ is being made to comply with these newly introduced international standards. In terms of effectiveness, the TCI has achieved a moderate level of effectiveness for 6 Immediate Outcomes (IOs) and a low level of effectiveness for 5 others.    

Of the 9 countries assessed by the CFATF to date in the Caribbean region, the above ratings rank the TCI in 3^rd place, in terms of its technical compliance and in 3^rd place[1] in terms of its effectiveness, and demonstrates the efforts made by the TCI since its last assessment.

However, there is more work to be done as the Report noted that the AML/CFT supervisory regime is in need of further enhancement to ensure that Financial Institutions and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, such as the legal profession, dealers in precious metals, casinos and the real estate sector, implement robust risk based mitigating measures to effectively address ML/TF risks. A number of recommendations have been made to address the identified deficiencies.

The Hon. Premier and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, in announcing the release noted that “The Turks and Caicos Islands has formally communicated a high level of political commitment and a willingness to address the deficiencies identified in the Report.  We note that there has been favourable recognition within international and regional organizations of the tremendous effort that the TCI has expended to meet the international standards. The TCI recognises that more work is required to enhance the effectiveness of our AML/CFT risk management framework and we intend to continue working collaboratively with the private sector to achieve our goal of a high level of compliance now that we have the benefit of the recommendations in the Report.”

HE the Governor Mr. Nigel Dakin, noted that “TCI’s AML/CFT risk management program is incorporated in the National Security Strategy recently approved by the Cabinet and assured that a programme of work is now being planned by the AMLC for Cabinet’s approval, to address the issues highlighted in the Report. With the strong and collaborative support of the private sector, it is intended that when the TCI provides its first follow up report to the CFATF in November 2020, significant progress can be shown to demonstrate the TCI’s high level of commitment.”

ENDS

 

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Notes to Editor:

1. The members of the Anti-Money laundering Committee established under the Proceeds of Crime Ordinance are the Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE QC (Chair); the Director of Public Prosecutions Eugene Otuonye QC., the Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting, the Collector of Customs Chawa Williams; the Managing Director of the Financial Services Commission Niguel Streete, and the Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency Dwayne Baker.

2. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989. It currently comprises 37 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, with participation by over 180 countries through a global network of FATF- style regional bodies, such as the CFATF. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.  The FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.

3. The FATF has developed a series of Recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. They form the basis for a co-ordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field.  First issued in 1990, the FATF Recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and most recently in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be of universal application.

4. The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the international financial system from misuse. .

5. The CFATF is a FATF style regional body responsible for ensuring compliance within the Caribbean region. The CFATF’s Report on the Turks and Caicos Islands can be found at https://www.cfatf-gafic.org/documents/4th-round-meval-reports

6. Please refer to The FATF Recommendations 2012 and the FATF Guidance: National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment here:

The FATF Recommendations 2012 (October 2016 update) can be found at

http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/fatf-recommendations.html

FATF Guidance National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment can be found at

http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/methodsandtrends/documents/ml-tf-risks.html

[1] Ranked 3^rd in effectiveness along with the Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.