The Retention of the Mandatory Death Penalty in Trinidad and Tobago: An Ongoing Human Rights Concern

Abstract

Commonwealth Caribbean countries account for a significant portion (roughly 15%) of the Global South region. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (“Trinidad and Tobago”) is the lone Commonwealth Caribbean country that retains the mandatory death penalty on its statute book in defiance of its human rights obligations. The retention of this anti-human rights punishment is due, in large measure, to decisions from Trinidad and Tobago’s final court of appeal, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (“JCPC”), which has affirmed the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty. This article comparatively evaluates the jurisprudence on the mandatory death penalty from the JCPC and its regional counterpart, the Caribbean Court of Justice (“CCJ”), to demonstrate that while the CCJ rightly places a premium on the protection of human rights, the posture of the JCPC severely threatens the respect, protection, and fulfillment of human rights. The article argues that the most recent judicial decision from the JCPC on the mandatory death penalty continues to afford Trinidad and Tobago a free pass to disregard its international human rights obligations indefinitely. It further argues that this state of affairs is wholly censurable for a civilized nation that supposedly has respect for the fundamental rights of the individual. Consequently, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago should take the only corrective action remaining, which is to abolish the mandatory death penalty by legislative intervention.