Ramesh L Maharaj S.C. on Privy Council Judgment in Sedition Appeal 28.10.23

Описание: Mr. Ramesh L. Maharaj S.C. was invited by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha to address a Media Conference in respect of the judgment delivered by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ("JCPC") in the appeal of Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago v Vijay Maharaj (on behalf of the Estate of Satnarayan Maharaj) and Central Broadcasting Services Ltd on 12th October, 2023.

The JCPC dismissed the appeal of Vijay Maharaj and CBSL. The JCPC decided that since the impugned provisions of the Sedition Act was a law which was in force at the time the Republican Constitution came into force in 1976, the Courts did not have jurisdiction to strike it down because the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago expressly provided in Section 6 of the Constitution that all existing laws in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as at that date would have legal effect as the existing law of Trinidad and Tobago from that date onwards.

Notwithstanding that decision however, the JCPC in the contents of its judgment made pronouncements which require the Courts to interpret and construe the provisions of the Sedition Act in accordance with the law of Sedition as developed in the United Kingdom, in Canada, in India and in several other Commonwealth countries. The JCPC decided that the Courts must imply in the express provisions of the Sedition Act which create the offences of Sedition that the offences cannot be committed unless there is an intention to cause violence or public disorder by the words spoken or the publication of the words.

The contents of this judgment are therefore very important for members of the public and members of the Media to understand. The contents of the judgment therefore give greater latitude for the freedom of speech, the freedom of thought and expression and the freedom of the press.