FROM LICENSING TO DISCIPLINE OF PRIVATE BAILIFFS: THE ROLE OF THE REGISTRAR OF THE SUPREME COURT

THE BAILIFFS ACT, CHAPTER 4:61 The role and function of the Registrar of the Supreme Court with respect to Bailiffs are governed by the Bailiffs Act, Chapter 4:61 of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago. Section 5 of the Act gives the Registrar the ultimate power to register both public and private bailiffs in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to registering bailiffs, the Act gives the Registrar the power to: refuse to register a person as a bailiff if certain conditions are not satisfied (Section 5(3)); issue a Bailiff’s License to carry out the functions of a bailiff (Section 6(1)); renew the licence of a Bailiff (Section 6(3)); and suspend or cancel the licence of a bailiff in certain instances (Section 7);

CONDITIONS TO BE SATISFIED TO REGISTER AS A BAILIFF Payment of prescribed fee ($500.00) and prescribed security (security by way of bond, with a surety to the Registrar of the Supreme Court to the value of $5,000.00) Proof of good character – satisfied by the provision of a police certificate of good character and two references Must be over eighteen (18) years of age was or is employed, or offered a contract of employment, as a bailiff Has passed a written examination and an interview which would be conducted by the Ministry of the Attorney General

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE TO BE PUBLISHED Section 5 (5) of the Act states: - where a person applies for a bailiff’s license, the Registrar shall publish notice of the said application in all daily newspapers at least once in two consecutive weeks asking any person who objects to same to lodge their objections not later than fourteen (14) days after the date of the last publication. - If no objections, Registrar is entitled to grant license to the applicant.

REGISTER OF BAILIFFS According to Section 4 of the Act, the Registrar shall have custody of the Register of Bailiffs in which she shall enter the names of all persons whose applications for registration she has approved. The Act also stipulates that the Registrar shall have custody of all documents relating to the said Register and shall allow any person to inspect same during office hours and without the payment of any fee. As such, the public has free access to the Register for the purpose of determining: whether a person is a private bailiff or a public service bailiff; whether a person claiming to be a private bailiff holds a valid licence; and whether a person claiming to be a bailiff bears the same likeness as the person who appears on the register.

BAILIFF’S LICENCE According to Section 6(1), the Registrar shall on: entering the name of any person on the Register; and upon payment of the prescribed fee and prescribed security issue to the person a licence to carry out the functions of a bailiff. The Licence of a Bailiff is valid for a period of two (2) years unless suspended or cancelled by the Registrar Upon expiry of a licence, all bailiffs must apply to have their licences renewed. Upon payment of the prescribed fee, the Registrar would renew any licence, provided it is not suspended or cancelled. Renewal is a discretionary power under the Act.

BAILIFF’S LICENCE A licence shall : be a laminated card bearing the seal of the Supreme Court; contain a photograph, name, address and date of birth of the bailiff; contain the date on which the licence expires

SAMPLE OF BAILIFF LICENCE

LIST OF BAILIFFS AVAILABLE ONLINE Section 6(3) requires the Registrar to publish on January 1st and July 1st of each year in the Gazette and in two daily newspapers, the name of each person who holds, on each of those dates, a valid license. Members of the public may therefore conveniently access the list of Bailiffs online.

SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF LICENCES In the case of a private bailiff, the Registrar may, after receiving a report under Section 11 (report of a lost or stolen licence)or after due enquiry and on such grounds as she thinks proper, including incompetence or irresponsibility, suspend or cancel the licence of a bailiff. (Section 7(1)). Further, if it appears to the Registrar on reasonable grounds to be expedient or in the public interest, the Registrar may suspend the licence of a bailiff pending the results of an inquiry which shall be instituted into the matter immediately by the Registrar. (Section 7(2)) The Registrar may also suspend the licence of a bailiff who fails to attend the yearly mandatory training programme organized by the Ministry of the Attorney General until such time as he attends a training programme. (Section 14)

SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF LICENCE (cont’d) When proposing to suspend or cancel a licence, the Registrar shall serve notice of the proposal, together with written reasons thereof, on the bailiff, informing him of an entitlement to a hearing within fifteen(15) days after the notice is served on him. (Section 7(3)) On completion of the said hearing, the Registrar may either carry out or refrain from carrying out the proposal. (Section 7(4)) Each suspension or cancellation of a licence and each termination of such suspension shall: be noted in the Register; and published in the Gazette and in at least two(2) daily newspapers circulating in Trinidad and Tobago. (Section 7(5))

SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF LICENCE (cont’d) Where the licence of a bailiff is suspended or cancelled, the bailiff shall surrender his licence to the custody of the Registrar who shall: (a) in case of suspension, return the licence to the bailiff upon the termination of the suspension; or (b) in the case of cancellation, destroy the licence after the baiiff has unsuccessfully exhausted all means of redress available to him. (Section 7(6)) Note: A bailiff who fails to comply with the above - liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5,000.00 and to three(3) months imprisonment.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST BAILIFFS A person who has a complaint against a bailiff may make the complaint in writing in the prescribed form to a Judge of the Petty Civil Court (Magistrate) in the district in which the act complained of is alleged to have taken place. (Section 12(1)) After this is done, the Magistrate shall investigate the complaint and forward the complaint, together with the results of the investigation to the Registrar. (Section 12(2))

JUDICIAL REVIEW Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Registrar may apply to the High Court for Judicial Review. Section 13(1) Section 13(3) of the Act: where the Registrar cancels or suspends the licence of a bailiff and he applies to review the said decision, he shall not perform business of a bailiff until the application is determined in his favour.

The Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court remains ever committed to working with the various stakeholders to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of bailiffs in Trinidad and Tobago. We continue to work assiduously with the Ministry of the Attorney General to develop and institute administratively workable measures to implement the Act.