Trini lawyer wins for Antigua Government

TRINIDADIAN attorney Stanley Marcus SC successfully defended the Antiguan Govern-ment in a judicial review case brought by a former Government Minister and two others who were accused by a Commission of Inquiry of serious misconduct and other grave improprieties in connection with the Medical Benefits Scheme on that island. Justice Don Mitchell, in a 25-page judgment dated June 24, ruled against the three plaintiffs who were seeking to have the findings of the Commission of Inquiry quashed. The unsuccessful plaintiffs were Dave George, of George and George Construction Limited; Hilroy Hum-phreys, former Minister of Health who was in charge of the Medical Benefits Scheme; and Wilbur Harrigan, senior partner in the firm of Pannel Kerr Foster. The defendants in the matter were members of the Commission of Inquiry — Sir Allister McIntyre, Dr John Anthony Roberts QC and Oscar Frederick. Marcus headed the legal team which included Carla Brooks-Harris. Dr Henry Browne spearheaded the legal team which represented the three plaintiffs. At the end of the hearing, Justice Mitchell dismissed the application and ordered the three plaintiffs to pay costs to the defendants. Over an extended period of time, public disquiet in Antigua and Barbuda began to be expressed concerning the conduct of certain officials in relation to the management of the funds of the Medical Benefits Scheme.

Radio talk shows on the subject became heated. Articles in newspapers and letters to the editor became more and more extreme in the accusations. As a result of the public criticisms of the management of the Scheme, the Governor General appointed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the allegations. The Commission was assisted by Richard Cheltenham QC who was flown to Antigua from Barbados. The Commission submitted its report on July 25, 2002 which was subsequently published and widely circulated in the community. The Commission described the entire affair as ‘scandalous’. They found that the Scheme was run on contributions from the private sector only and that Government had never paid any of the deductions made from the salaries of public servants, far less its own contributory share. The Government debt as of December 1999 amounted to more than TT $300 million. The Commission also found that contracts had been awarded from the proceeds of the Scheme. The Commission, in their report, found that the three plaintiffs were guilty of serious misconduct, including criminal misconduct and other grave improprieties. As a result, the three plaintiffs sought an order to set aside the findings, recommendations and conclusions of the Commission. Justice Mitchell, in his judgment, said he was satisfied that the three Commissioners were specific and met all the requirements. “I am satisfied that the Commissioners were entitled in the course of the inquiry to enquire into the conduct of the three claimants as that conduct related to their terms of reference and to express their own opinion on whether they considered that breaches of the criminal law or of professional duties and responsibilities had occurred, if that is what their investigation revealed.”