State for false imprisonment. In Trinidad and Tobago there are reported cases where children
have been wrongfully detained, beaten and deprived of the right to consult an attorney.
In Baboolal, David; de Freitas, Ronald v The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, the
claimants were 14 years old and were arrested without a warrant.164 They were taken to the
police station, were denied access to their parents and were not informed of their rights to consult
an attorney. They suffered an inhumane interrogation procedure which involved assault and
battery and public humiliation. They were “threatened and cursed by the police officers… they
were put to kneel on filthy steps with their hands up in the air for 10 minutes and while kneeling
they were threatened by 2 army officers to be kicked down” and “the claimants were searched
and the first claimant's pants were pulled down so that part of his buttocks was exposed to the
full view of the public”.
The treatment by the officers violated several rights of the child under the CRC. These include
Article 19, which protects children from all forms of violence, Article 40 which mandates fair
treatment within the justice system, and Article 37 which prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of
the liberty of a child.165 In reparation of these violations the claimants were awarded damages,
which do little to compensate harm to the welfare of the child.
This case is by no means an isolated incident, in Re The Constitution of Trinidad and
Tobago...De Silva, Robert; De Silva, Renaldo [a minor by his father and next friend Robert De
Silva] v The Attorney General of Trinidad, the second applicant was a minor and was
arrested.166 He not informed of the reason for his arrest, interviewed without the presence of his
parent or guardian and was not informed of his right to counsel. While the case failed as it was a
constitutional motion and it was found that there were alternative remedies, the court granted
declarations that failure of the police to inform the applicants of the reason for their arrest and of
their right to retain counsel was a violation of the Constitution. It is useful however in illustrating
that police officers will often act in breach of their procedures, to the detriment of accused.
164
Baboolal, David; de Freitas, Ronald v The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago [2008]H.C.2487
Supra fn 1 at Article 19,40,37
166
In Re The Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago...De Silva, Robert; De Silva, Renaldo [a minor by his father and
next friend Robert De Silva] v The Attorney General of Trinidad [2000] H.C.2658
165
93