CCJ awards Trinidadian political activist US$30,000 in compensation following unlawful detention in Suriname

Last Updated on Monday, 25 May 2026, 16:23 by Denis Chabrol

By Peter Richards

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, May 25, CMC – The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Monday awarded the Trinidad-based political analyst and consultant, Derek Ramsamooj, US$30,000 in damages resulting from his arrest and detention in Suriname in 2020.

Ramsamooj had alleged that his rights under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) which governs the regional integration movement, CARICOM, had been breached due to his unlawful detention by police officers in Suriname from October 2020 to September 2022.

Court of Human Rights in Sardouz against Turkey, which identifies early and effective access to counsel as a structural safeguard without which the fairness of the proceedings is presumptively compromised, the Court held that Article 40 of the SCCP, insofar as it authorises the deprivation of access to counsel at the investigative stage without compensatory framework sufficient to preserve the effectiveness of the defence, unlawfully impedes free movement and cannot be reconciled with a minimum human rights baseline required by community law.

“The Court found that in those circumstances, there is no need to establish discriminatory treatment on the ground of nationality only in order to establish a violation of RTC rights.”

Justice Anderson said on the third issue, the CCJ reaffirmed a principle in Gilbert against State of Barbados that freedom of movement under the RTC does not immunise CARICOM nationals from the operation of law enforcement agencies in the receiving state, but distinguished Gilbert on the basis that it concerned the application to a Community national of domestic law which was consistent with the RTC.

“The present case fell within the Mariline of authority, where the domestic law authorising the enforcement action is itself inconsistent with the treaty by breaching the minimum standard of human rights.

“Article 226 of the RTC has a greatly diminished role to play. Only in extremely rare circumstances could a member state be permitted to rely on Article 226 to justify conduct that undermines the substance of treaty-based rights by reference to domestic procedures that fail to meet the minimum standards of human rights required by Community law.”