The Claimants, being six (6) duly authorised holders of Firearms User’s Licenses (“FULs”), commenced judicial review proceedings seeking to review (i) the lawfulness of the Commissioner of Police’s (“CoP”) decision and/or determination that FULs which were not renewed during the period 2004 to 2024 are invalid (thereby exposing thousands of FUL holders to criminal proceedings, liability to seizure of their personal firearms and ammunition and other adverse consequences) and (ii) the system and/or regime of renewals imposed by the CoP decision due to impossibility / undue difficulty to comply with.
In particular, the Claimants challenged the specific determination and/or decision of the CoP, conveyed by way of a letter dated the 6th February, 2024, that the Claimants were in “deliberate non-compliance with the renewal regime” in circumstances where prior to 2024, the CoP had failed to comply with the intention of Parliament by failing and/or neglecting to operationalise any renewal regime and/or in circumstances where no renewals of FULs had ever taken place and/or in circumstances where the CoP adopted a different practice and policy in relation to existing FULs that had, by that time, become settled.
The proceedings were heard and determined by the Hon Mr. Justice Ricky Rahim, who delivered his judgment on the 26th March, 2025, and ordered as follows:
(a) It is declared that the FULs issued prior to the 31st May, 2004 (operative date), have not expired and the decision of the CoP to require the renewal of the FULs of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Claimants by payment of a fee or otherwise so to renew the said FUL was unlawful, and the CoP shall refund all sums paid by those Claimants as renewal fees to them;
(b) It is declared that in respect of the Fifth and Sixth Claimants, there was created a legitimate expectation that the CoP would not enforce the law as to the expiration of licences issued after the operative date and that upon payment of the renewal fees set by The Finance Act, Act No. 21 of 2022 from November 14, 2022 and production of the required documents their licences would be renewed provided the CoP was satisfied that the discretion to renew should be exercised in keeping with the statutory requirements for renewals; and
(c) It is declared that the failure of the CoP to have promulgated and implemented a regime for renewals since the operative date despite the absence of a prescribed fee for renewal was unlawful and contrary to the policy of the Firearms Act.
The Claimants were represented by Anand Beharrylal KC, Kiel Taklalsingh, Asif Hosein-Shah and Nyree Alfonso.
Useful Links:
- Written Decision of the Hon Mr. Justice Rahim delivered on 26 March, 2025.
- Article published on 27 March, 2025, by the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Newspapers, “FUL holders score major legal victory challenging process for renewals.”
- Article published on 27 March, 2025, by the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday Newspapers, “Former top cop ordered to repay renewal fees to 4 FUL holders.”
