Former Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran has emerged victorious in his lawsuit against the State over being wrongfully dismissed by the Government in December 2015.
Delivering a judgment yesterday, High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad ruled that the termination of Rambarran’s appointment on the advice of Finance Minister Colm Imbert was “seriously flawed.”
Justice Rampersad ruled that Rambarran’s constitutional rights to protection of the law and to a fair hearing, in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice, were breached and that the decision was illegal, null and void.
As part of his decision, Justice Rampersad ordered that Rambarran be paid the compensation he would have received if his contract was not terminated before it was due to end in July 2017. Justice Rampersad did not quantify the compensation. as he ordered that it be calculated by the Central Bank, inclusive of income tax and statutory deductions.
Although Rambarran was seeking significant vindicatory damages, as he claimed he suffered psychological effects over what transpired, Justice Rampersad only ordered $175,000 as he noted that his (Rambarran) medical expert could not prove the condition she treated in 2016 was directly caused by such.
“No doubt, the action taken was meant to remove the claimant from a substantial post in the Republic of T&T without the benefit of due regard having been paid to his constitutional rights as determined above,” Justice Rampersad said.
Rambarran was appointed Central Bank Governor in July 2012 and his contract was terminated in December 2015.
The decision came shortly after Rambarran announced that T&T was in a recession and after he revealed the biggest foreign exchange users in the country. In his constitutional claim, he was contending the government unlawfully revoked his appointment in breach of his constitutional right to due process and fairness. He was also contending that he was hounded out of office as part of a political conspiracy.
In his judgment, Justice Rampersad ruled that if there were concerns that Rambarran’s alleged conduct was in breach of aspects of the Central Bank Act and Financial Institutions Act, both had provisions for criminal charges to be laid, which Rambarran would have had to defend before a magistrate.
“Parliament intended that if there was a breach of either of the acts that there was a remedy to deal with that breach,” he said, as he noted that Imbert did not reveal the full reasons for his recommendation.
As part of his claim, Rambarran was seeking additional compensation for losing out on a position as a senior advisor to the G-24 Secretariat based in Washington DC.
While Justice Rampersad ruled that Imbert acted unfairly when he forwarded the press release over the revocation of Rambarran’s appointment to the official recruiting him, he noted Rambarran was not entitled to additional compensation, as he applied for the post during the period he was compensated for in the lawsuit.
Justice Rampersad did criticise Rambarran for secretly recording a meeting with Imbert before his termination but still considered a transcript from the recording, as its contents were not challenged by State attorneys.
He ordered the State to pay Rambarran’s legal costs and ordered that 2.5 per cent interest be paid on the compensation from the date the lawsuit was filed in 2019. He also agreed to grant a stay of the judgment once the Central Bank completes its report on the compensation.
In a brief interview afterwards, Rambarran thanked God and his legal team for his victory.
“This was a marathon journey for us,” he said.
He suggested that the outcome of the case highlighted the continued independence of the Judiciary.
“It shows you that a Government is willing to trample on constitutional rights to remove a high-ranking office holder because of a perceived grievance. What does that say for the man in the street?” Rambarran said.
Rambarran was represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Renuka Rambhajan, Kent Samlal, Jayanti Lutchmedial, Vishaal Siewsaran and Natasha Bisram. Russell Martineau, SC, Jason Mootoo and Romney Thomas represented the AG’s Office.