Special Thanks To:
•Chanika
Carrington
•Aimee Partap
•Olivia Dos Santos
•Nicola Budd
•Jewel Barrow
•Audrey Burgess
What is The
Licensing Authority
What remedies Can
be obtained
Remedies Available
in Barbados
A
Dancehall licence is a licence which
permits public operation of an
establishment that can be used for public
dancing or singing.
 The Licensing Authority has the power to
grant such licence for any period not
exceeding twelve months to such persons
as it thinks fit to use places such as
theatres or dance halls.
The Licensing Authority acts as a tribunal
in these matters. It is an alternative to
court
 S.2
“dance hall” means any building, tent or
other erection open to the public
gratuitously or otherwise, where public
dancing or singing takes place.
 S.2
“licence” means a licence granted in the
form in the Schedule and “licensed” shall be
construed accordingly.
 Section
2 of the Act states that the
Licensing Authority is the Magistrate
assigned to the district where the theatre
or dance hall is situated.
 There
are 2 remedies available from the
Licensing Authority when individual
complain about a licensed premises.
 1.
Cancellation of the licence
 2.
Suspension of the licence
Scenario 1
The licensed premise is carrying on
activities which may constitute a nuisance
or are injurious to public morals. What can
be done to bring this activity to an end?
 If
a written complaint is made to the
Licensing Authority in your area, the
premises may have its licence cancelled
or suspended for a period not exceeding 6
months.
 However,
a complainant must live within
half a mile from the dancehall.
 The
complainant must satisfy the court
with proof made by oath.
The Licensing Authority may:
 (a) attach such reasonable conditions to
the terms of any suspension imposed
under this section as would, in its opinion,
ensure that section 4B is complied with,
so,
 however, that no suspension of any
licence shall exceed a period of more than
twenty-one consecutive days or forty-two
days altogether in respect of any one
complaint or group of complaints
 (b)
cancel any such licence if the
conditions imposed by it have not been
complied with.
 Section
4 of the Said Act
1. Where the activities constitute a
nuisance or are injurious to public morals.
2. Where there has been discrimination by
the occupier of the premises or his
servants. Discrimination on grounds of
race, colour, religion or sex is strictly
prohibited.
3. Where there was annoyance in the
vicinity due to excessive noise.
 Such
quasi-judicial bodies enable citizens
to have an alternative route to litigation
and spare them the cost of it as well.
 However, the Authority shall keep within
the arena of fair play by allowing
licensees against whom complaints have
been made to be represented by an
Attorney-at-Law, so that they may duly
respond to the allegations made against
them.
There is no Licensing Authority in relation to
Dancehalls.
 Alternative remedies are:

Report the matter to the police, who will warn
the owners or operators of the premises that
they are disturbing the peace under S31 of
the Public Order Act.
 The owners or operators may be arrested .


Use negotiation or mediation on terms and
conditions which will satisfy both parties.
 This
is the situation in which an
individual engages in some harmful
activity which affects the general public
or a section of the public.
 It
is a crime actionable by the Attorney
General.
 However
an individual can bring an action
if he/she can prove that the defendant has
caused him “particular damage over and
above that suffered by the general public”.
 He
must have suffered damage which is
of a different kind from that of the general
public or
 He must have suffered damage to a
greater degree than other members of the
general public.
 Particular

Damages :
These can occur, according to Campbell v
Paddington Corp, where the defendant’s
structure obstructs the view from the rooms
thus reducing their letting value.
 It
is a tort
 The
plaintiff must have an interest in the
land
 Damages are given at the discretion of the
court.
 Action where



There is physical injury to the plaintiff’s property
There is substantial interference with the use and
enjoyment of his land
There is Interference with easements or right to
access
 Where
the defendant’s activity is
reasonable according to the ordinary
usage of the mankind living in a particular
society” - Sedleight – Denfield v O’
Callaghan
 With respect to the enjoyment of the land,
the locality of the incident.
 Whether it is beneficial to the community
or just for spite or annoyance of the
plaintiff
 the duration of the damage- whether
temporary or permanent.
This may apply to a dancehall located in the client’s
neighbourhood, which can change the character of
the neighbourhood, thus reducing the property
values in the area.
Illustrative of this is Vanderpant v Mayfair Hotel Co Ltd
where the court took into consideration the material
interfering as well as the circumstances and
character of the locality in which the complainant
lives. It was found to be a nuisance. It did not matter
if the defendant’s activity was being carried on or
could be prevented.


The client could seek an injunction and damages for
the injuries suffered.
Licensing Committee
How to revoke/ cancel
a License
On what grounds can
you object to a license
 It
is a statutory empowered body which
determines who can get a liquor licence.
 According
to s 9 of the Liquor Licence
Act of Barbados and s 5 of the Liquor
Licence Act of Trinidad, it consists of a
Magistrate or other authorised officers
S
19 in Barbados allows a person to
object to the granting of a licence by the
Licensing Committee within 7 days of its
approval.
 In Trinidad and Tobago there is a notice
period of 28 days before the Licensing
Committee can revoke a licence.
 In
Trinidad and Tobago, objections can be
made if the licensed property is within
400 meters of a


a church or other place of worship
a school
 Other
grounds of objections can be based
on the following
 If the applicant is a person of bad
character.
 If the property does not meet the
requirements of the health or building
code.
 Where the applicant has already been
convicted of an arrestable offence.

Where the district is adequately
serviced by licensed premises.

The applicant has already had his/her
licence revoked
 s21
B where the licensed person, servant
or agency discriminates against any
person because of his/her race, colour,
creed, religion or sex.
S
21 C where the licensed premises is
cause of public annoyance.

To refuse the police entry on the property to
carry out their duty,

To use the premise as a brothel, or as a
place for prostitution.

To sell alcohol to a person under the age of
16 years old, in Trinidad it would be under
the age of 18

Permit drunkenness, quarrels, riot, or sell
intoxicating substances to an already
intoxicated person.
The Creation and
Form of the Tribunal
Its Role and
Function
Remedies available
The Industrial Court was established in 1965
by the Industrial Stabilisation Act, which has
since been repealed and replaced in 1972 by
the Industrial Relations Act (IRA), Chapter
88:01.
 Under section 4 of the Industrial Relations
Act, the Court was established as a superior
court of record which has a status equivalent
to that of a High Court of Justice. This Court
was established as a result of a number of
strikes by workers and lockouts by employers
that affected the Trinidad and Tobago
economy from 1960-1964.

 The
Industrial Court comprises:
 22 Judges
 A President who is Head of the Court
 A Vice-President
 A Chairman, and
 19 members of the court, consisting of
experienced attorneys, economists,
accountants and persons experienced in
industrial relations
 The
Industrial court is a specialized court
with a peculiar jurisdiction.
 It is responsible for dispensing social
justice by “upholding the principles and
practices of good Industrial Relations as
pillars of Industrial Peace, Economic and
Social Development”.
 The court was first established, under the
Industrial Stabilisation Act:
 To
ensure that employers recognize Trade
Unions and other Organizations that were
representative of a majority of workers;
 To establish a prompt and efficient system
for the settlement of Trade disputes;
 To regulate the price of commodities;
 To regulate any matters incidental to the
functions related above.
 the
Industrial Court has jurisdiction as a
superior court of record to:
 Hear and determine Trade disputes;
 Register collective agreements and hear
and determine any matters that arise from
the registration of such agreements;
 Hear and determine any industrial
relations or offences under the IRA;
 Hear and determine any other matter
brought before the court in accordance
with the IRA provisions.
 Minimum
Wages Act Chapter 88:04, which
upholds minimum wages and terms and
conditions of employment;
 Retrenchment and Severance Benefits
Act 1985, which prescribes the procedure
to be followed in the event of redundancy
and provides for severance payments to
retrenched workers;
 Maternity Protection Act 1998, which
seeks to provide a minimum level of
maternity leave, benefits and protection;
 Occupational Safety and Health Act 2004,
which upholds the safety, health and
welfare of persons at work.
 The
General Services Division, which
deals with all disputes except those where
the dispute involves workers in essential
services;
 The
Essential Services Division, which
deals with disputes comprising of workers
in essential services.

A Special Tribunal established by the Civil
Service Act Chapter 23:01, which hears
and determines disputes in the Civil
Service, Police Service, Fire Service,
Prison Service, Teaching Service and
Supplemental Police and Central Bank;
 An
Occupational Safety and Health
Division that focuses on the efficient
exercise of the Court’s jurisdiction under
the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
 Under
section 7(7) of the IRA, the Court
may impose fines, in addition to any other
remedies the Court thinks fit, for contempt
in relation to a failure to comply with its
orders or awards.
 Moreover,
under section 12 of the IRA, the
Industrial Court shall make all such
recommendations and do all such things
as appear to be right and proper for the
reconciliation of the parties and shall take
the necessary steps to secure a
settlement of disputes by conciliation.
 Finally,
the Court’s work has a direct
impact on the general public because the
court sets out principles and guidelines
for the conduct of good industrial
relations which promote industrial
stability and ensure that the public has
access to essential services.

Labour Department
Duties of Chief Labour Officer
It shall be the duty of the Chief Labour Officer:
(a) to receive and investigate all representations,
whether of employers or of employees, made to
him concerning
any business, trade, occupation, or employment
with
a view to the settlement of disputes and
grievances and to pursue conciliation especially
regarding hours and conditions of work and
regulations of wages and to report thereon to the
Minister ;

The Chief Labour Officer is mandated to
conciliate in disputes between employers
and employees. The process is as
follows:
If discussions between the employer and
employee breakdown at domestic level,
either party ( or a representative for ther
employee it the Trade Union) informs the
Labour Department in writing, that a
dispute and requests the services of the
Chief Labour Officer in the conciliation
process.
A
meeting is convened with the
agreement of the employer and Union
which is chaired by the Chief Labour
Officer or his/her representative, who
guides the conciliation process.
The next level, conciliated by the Minister
of Labour; if the matter still remains
unresolved
It can be referred to the highest level that
of the Prime Minister,
If conciliation efforts fail, the parties can
agree to seek binding arbitration.
 The
process is voluntary.
 Chief Labour Officer has no authority, to
effect or impose a settlement on either
side nor to bind either party to decisions
made.
 The office of the Chief Labour Officer is,
however, highly respected in this process
as that of an experienced industrial
relations practitioner.
 Work
dismissals
 Collective agreements
 Redundancy
 Wages
 Conditions of Employment

SIXTH SCHEDULE

(Section 38(5))
For the purposes of section 38, the tribunal
shall consist of:
 A chairman who is appointed by the Minister.
 The chairman is a practicing solicitor or
barrister for not less than 5 years
 not less than 2 other members who shall be
appointed by the Minister.
 Other members of the tribunal shall be
appointed by the Minister in equal numbers
from persons nominated by organisations
representing workers and employers in
Barbados

Remedies are available under Third Schedule

2. (1) Sub-paragraphs (2) to (4) shall have effect in
relation to any case where:

1 (a) under anv provision contained in this Act a
tribunal is empowered to determine that an
employer is liable to pay to an employee either the
whole or part of the severance payment to which
the employee would have been entitled apart from
any other provision mentioned therein; and

(b) the tribunal determines that the employer is
liable to pay part but not the whole of that
severance payment.
 (2)
There shall be ascertained what
proportional part of the severance
payment bears to the whole of it (in this
paragraph referred to as the“ relevant
proportion “).
 (3) There shall also be ascertained what,
in accordance with paragraph 1, would
have been the amount of the rebate
payable in respect of that severance
payment if the employer had been liable
to pay the whole of it.
Who makes up the
Association
Their Aims and
Objectives
The role of the
The role of the
Discipline Committee
 The
Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago is
a body corporate established under section 3
of the 1986 Legal Profession Act (LPA), whose
membership comprises practitioners, nonpractitioners and honorary members.
 The
President,
 The Vice President,
 The Treasurer,
 Ten Senior Ordinary members
 Five Junior Ordinary members
 The
Aims and Objective are laid out in
section s5. These include:
 (a) to maintain and improve the standards
of conduct and proficiency of the legal
profession in Trinidad and Tobago;
 (b)
to represent and protect the interests
of the legal profession in Trinidad and
Tobago;
 (c) to protect and assist the public in
Trinidad and Tobago in all matters relating
to the law;
to promote good relations within the
profession, between the profession and
persons concerned in the administration
of justice in Trinidad and Tobago and
between the profession and the public
generally;
 (e) to promote good relations between the
profession and professional bodies of the
legal profession in other countries and to
participate in the activities of any
international association of lawyers and to
become a member thereof;
 (d)
 (f)
to promote, maintain and support the
administration of justice and the rule of
law;
 (g) to do such other things as are
incidental or conducive to the
achievement of the purposes set out at (a)
to (f).

“... sees as one of its main roles the duty and
responsibility to uphold the Constitution and
the rule of law. Thus, it is fully committed to
doing so by participating in debates to foster
the notion of the supremacy of the
Constitution and the law as a whole and by
commenting on any situation concerning the
Constitution. The Association seeks to
achieve its goals at all times in the noble
tradition of professional independence,
integrity, and social responsibility.”
Who make up the
Committee


The President of the
Association
Fifteen other
persons appointed
by the Chief Justice
after deliberations
with the Council.
Who does it provides
for



The an aggrieved
client
any person who has
been directly affected
by any professional
misconduct,
These individual must
have leave of the
Committee, to bring a
complaint against an
attorney-at-law.
 Regulates
all attorneys, considers
complaints against them and where
appropriate can take action against them.
 Attorney
client conduct is outlined in Third
Schedule in The Legal Profession Act
contains a Code of Ethics and also in
Paragraphs 21 to 35 deal and Part B
 Act
competently and diligently.
 Deal with work within a reasonable time.
 At all times in entering into discussions or
agreements with the client’s opponents to
do so only with the client’s express
consent and instructions.
 Keep the client’s affairs completely
confidential.
 Deal with the client courteously.
 Provide
the client with legal advice to the
best of his or her ability and act in the
client’s best interests.
 Charge the client fees that are fair and
reasonable and in accordance with the
time expended and the complexity of the
work.
 Act in good faith and conduct himself in a
professional manner.

Forms are available to persons at the office of
the Disciplinary Committee. Two forms are
provided: form 1 is the formal application to
the Disciplinary Committee, and form 2 is an
affidavit (which must contain the grounds
upon which the complaint is made) which
must be sworn to by the person before a
Justice of the Peace, or a Commissioner of
Affidavits, or a Notary Public.

After the forms are filled out they are to be
filed with the Secretary of the Disciplinary
Committee.

The Disciplinary Committee provides an
avenue for an aggrieved client to bring a
complaint against an attorney-at-law. The
Disciplinary Committee regulates all
attorneys, considers complaints against them
and where appropriate can take matters
against them.

Where in the opinion of the Committee a
prima facie case has been made out against
the attorney, proceedings will be initiated. At
the end of the hearing, the committee would
give a decision.

Impose a fine in a sum that the
committee thinks proper

Order that the Attorney pay the
complainant a sum of money for
compensation and reimbursement as
well as any other expenses he may have
incurred in pursuing his complaint,
including legal costs (if any), transport
for witnesses etc.

In serious cases, the committee can, in
addition, refer its findings to the Chief
Justice and the Attorney General which
may lead to the Attorney being deprived
of his right to practice law
What makes up the
Committee
Its role
Remedies and
Procedure
 The
committee according to the Fourth
Schedule of the Act comprises 7
attorneys-at-law of whom at least 3 shall
be of not less than 10 years' standing in
the profession. These attorneys shall be
nominated by the Bar Association by
instrument in writing addressed to the
Registrar. Their tenure can not exceed 2
years but they can be re-nominated.
 The
Act states that there shall be a
Chairman and a Deputy Chairman of the
Committee who shall be elected by the
Committee from among the members of
at least 10 years' standing in the legal
profession.
 The
Disciplinary Committee’s role is,
according to section 18 (1) of the
Barbados Legal Profession Act is to
uphold standards of professional conduct
for attorneys-at-law. They make rules in
relation to the standards of professional
etiquette and profession conduct as I said
before, and the breaking of such rules
constitute grave professional misconduct
 In
the event that a client or any person
wants to complain against an attorney-atlaw for professional misconduct, he/she
may visit the office of the Bar Association
located at Inga Lodge, Pinfold Street,
Bridgetown to speak with the Secretary of
the Disciplinary Committee, who under
the Act, is the Registrar or any person
deputed by him.
 The
client must collect 2 forms:
 Form of application against an attorneyat-law
 A form of affidavit by the applicant.
 The
first form is filled out and signed by
the APPLICANT and the second form is to
be signed by a JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
stating the matters of fact on which he
relies in support of his application.
 The
complaint once lodged will then be
reviewed by the Committee in a formal
hearing to determine if a case of
professional misconduct is made out
against the attorney-at-law. Where such a
case exist the Committee must within 21
days forward to the Chief Justice a report
of its findings and any recommendation
for appropriate sanctions to be instituted
against the attorney-at-law.
 The
Committee may make rules regulating
the presentation, hearing and
determination of applications.
Additionally, for the purposes of any
application made under the Act, the
Committee shall have the powers of the
High Court to summon witnesses, call for
the production of books and documents
and examine witnesses and parties
concerned on oath.
 On
the hearing of an application the
Committee may, as it thinks just, in its
report make any recommendation as to
the
 Removal
from the Roll of the name of the
attorney-at-law to whom the application
relates;
 Suspending of the attorney-at-law to
whom the application relates from
practice on such conditions as it may
determine;
 Imposing
on the attorney-at-law to whom
the application relates, such fines as it
thinks proper;
 Subjecting the attorney-at-law to whom
the application relates, to a reprimand;
 The payment by any party of costs or
such sum as it may consider a reasonable
contribution towards costs.
 It
is to be noted that the professional
misconduct of an attorney complained of
to the Committee is limited in that it is not
authorized to hear matters of misconduct
against the Attorney-General or the
Director of Public Prosecution.