By: Capil Bissoon
February 28, 2025
Earlier today (February 26) the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court ruling in favour of Veera Bhajan, who challenged the refusal of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT) to recognise her appointment as a lay assessor.
Justices of Appeal Mira Dean-Armorer, Vasheist Kokaram and Malcolm Holdip affirmed the November 2021 High Court’s ruling.
Bhajan had to sue the EOT since she was being discriminated against because of her disability; imagine that the EOT, established as a superior court of record, the very organization that has the exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate certain defined claims of discrimination, victimization and offensive behaviour initiated under the Equal Opportunity Act (EOA), whose mandate is to work towards the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of equality and good relations between persons of different statuses is the one being sued for practising just the opposite.
The EOT and its Chair, former PNM Senator Donna Prowell-Raphael were found guilty of discrimination by the High Court which led the trial judge to “advise” Prowell-Raphael to reflect whether she was the “best fit for the tribunal.”
It was peculiarly clear that the EOT Chair, appointed by the President on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission was not only defying the decision of President who appointed Bhajan but was openly challenging the constitutional duties and responsibilities of the President.
Instead of accepting the High Court’s ruling, Prowell-Raphael retained a battery of lawyers, headed by a Senior Counsel, to launch an appeal of the High Court’s judgement.
Now that the Court of Appeal has ruled in Bhajan’s favor, will Prowell-Raphael now appeal this judgement to the Privy Council?
And assuming that EOT Chairman Prowell-Raphael accepts the ruling from the Court of Appeal, what quantum of damages will the EOT be liable for? And either way, what will be the cost of this expensive litigation to the taxpayer?
Now that the Court of Appeal has ruled, one would hope this the EOT and its Chair accept this ruling.
But this should not end here. Clearly Prowell-Raphael has proven that she is not the “best fit for the tribunal.”
The Chief Justice, as Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission must now take immediate steps and advise the President to revoke the appointment of the EOT’s Chairman Donna Prowell-Raphael.
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