integrity in public life act 2000

8/14/2019 Integrity in Public Life Act 2000

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THE INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC LIFE ACT, 2000

Arrangem ent of Section s

PART I

P RELIMINARY

S ection

1. Short t it le and commencement

2. I nt er pr et a tion

3. Applica t ion

P ART II

E STABLISHMENT , P OWERS AND F UNCTIONS OF INTEGRITY COMMISSION

4. Establishment of Integri ty Commission5. Funct ions of the Commission

6. Res igna t ion

7. Regist ra r

8 . Vacancy in membership

9 . Remunera t ion and s ta ff

10. Annual Repor t to Par li ament

PART III

F INANCIAL DISCLOSURE

11. Duty to furnish declarat ion

12. Contents of declarat ion

13. Request for fur ther par t iculars

14. Regis ter of In terest s

15. Further enquiry into declarat ion

16. Powers of the t r ibunal

17. Matter t o be referred to Director of Public Prosecutions

18. Findings of t r ibunal

19. In dem nit y

20. Duty as to secrecy

21. Offences relating to declaration

22. B lin d t r us t

PART IV

CODE OF CONDUCT

23. Applicat ion of Par t V

24. Use of office

25. Insider informat ion

26. I nflu en ce

27. Gift s


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28. Confident ia li ty

29. Confl ict of interest30. Disclosure t o Service Commission

31. Commission to report breach of his Part

PART V

P O WE R O F INVESTIGATION

32. C om pla in t s

33. Power of Commission to investigate

34. Special powers of investigation

35. Protection of informat ion

36. Request for opinion

37. Commission to act in public interest

38. Notice of adverse report

39. Exemption from l iabil ity

40. Power to en ter cont ract s

41. Regu la t ions

42. Income Tax Act

43. Repea l

44. Transit ional provisions

SCHEDULE

ii


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Legal Su pplem ent Part A to the T rinid ad a nd T obago Gazette, Vol. 39,

No. 212, 1st November, 2000

Fifth Session Fifth Pa rliam ent Republic of Trin idad

and Tobago

REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Act N o. 83 of 2000

[L.S.]

AN ACT to provide for th e esta blishm ent of the In tegrityC o m m i s s i o n ; t o m a k e n e w p r o v i s i o n s f o r t h eprevention of corruption of persons in public life byproviding for public disclosure; to regulate theconduct of persons exercising public functions; top r e s e r v e a n d p r o m o t e t h e i n t e g r i t y o f p u b l i co f f i c i a l s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s , a n d f o r m a t t e r sincidental t heret o.

[Assented to 27th October, 2000]


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WHEREAS i t is enacted inter alia by subsection (1) of

section 13 of th e Const itut ion th at an Act of Par liam entto which that section applies may expressly declare

that it shall have effect even though inconsistent with

sections 4 an d 5 of th e Const itu tion a nd, if any Act d oes

so declare, it shall have effect accordingly:

And whereas it is provided by subsection (2) of the

sa id sec t ion 13 o f the Cons t i tu t ion tha t an Ac t o f

Pa rliament to which t ha t section a pplies is one t he Bill

f o r w h i c h h a s b e e n p a s s e d b y b o t h H o u s e s o f

Parliament and at the final vote thereon in each House

ha s been supported by the votes of not less tha n t hr ee-fifth s of all th e member s of th at House:

And whereas it is necessary and expedient that the

provisions of this Act shall have effect even though

inconsistent with sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution.

ENACTED by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as

follows:

PART I

PRELIMINARY

1. (1) T h i s Act m a y b e ci t e d a s t h e I n t e g r i t y i n

Pu blic Life Act , 2000.

(2) This Act comes into operat ion on such date as

is fixed by the Pr esident by Pr oclam at ion.

(3) T h i s Act s h a l l h a v e e ffe ct e v e n t h o u g h

inconsistent with sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution.

2. In t his Act

assets means all property, including money,beneficially held in Trinidad and Tobago or

e l s ew h e r e a n d a l l r i g h t s a n d b e n e f it s

enjoyed on a continu ing basis;

Comm ission mea ns th e In tegrit y Comm ission

established un der section 4;

1084 No. 83 Integrity in Public Life 2000

Preamble

Enactment

Short title,

commencement and

inconsistency with

the Constitut ion

Interpretation


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C h a i r m a n m e a n s t h e C h a i r m a n of t h e

Commission;dependent child means the child of a person,

including a child of the family, step-childor adopted child, whether of full age orn o t , w h o i s u n m a r r i e d a n d b e i n gma inta ined by such person;

income mean s a l l income, f rom wha tevers o u r c e d e r i v e d a c q u i r e d i n o r o u t o f Trinidad a nd Tobago, whether directly orindirectly, a s m oney or moneys wort h an dincludes all receipts by way of salary, fees,

w a g e s , p e r q u i s i t e s , p r o f i t s , g a i n s ,emoluments, rents, interest, commissions,bonus, pension, annuity or benefit and allincome within the meaning of the IncomeTax Act;

i n v e s t i g a t i n g o f f i c e r m e a n s a p e r s o nauthorised by the Commission to exercisethe powers o f an inves t iga t ing o f f ice run der th is Act;

liability includes any obligation to pay ort r a n s f e r m o n e y or m o n e y s w o r t h i n

Trin idad a nd Tobago or elsewhere;person in public life means a person referred

to or listed in t he Schedule;

persons exercising public functions includesall persons holding office under the PublicService, J udicial an d Legal Service, PoliceService, Teaching Service and StatutoryAuth orit ies Service Comm ission, a s wellas Senators, members of the DiplomaticService and Advisers to the Government;

p u b l i c b o d y i n c l u d e s l o c a l a n d p u b l i c

au th orit ies of all descriptions;public officer' has the meaning ascribed to it

in section 3 of th e Const itu tion;

spouse in relation to a person in public lifemeans a pe rson to whom the pe rson inpublic life is married or living with in a

Chap . 75:01

No. 83 Integrity in Public Life 2000 1085


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conjugal relationship outside of marriage,

but does not include a person with whomt h e p e r s o n i n p u b l ic li fe h a s m a d e aseparation agreement, or if their supportobligations and family property have beendealt with by a cour t order;

tribunal means a tribunal established under

section 15.

3. This Act applies to every person in public life and

to per sons exercising public fun ctions.

PART II

ESTABLISHMENT, POWE RS AN D FU NCTI ON S OF INTEGRITY

COMMISSION

4. (1) There is established an Integrity Commission

consisting of a Chairman, Deputy Chairman and three

other members who shall be persons of integrity and

high stan ding.

(2) At least one member of th e Commission sha ll

be an at torney-at -law of at least ten years experience.

(3) At least one member of th e Commission sha ll

be a char tered or certified accoun ta nt .

(4) T h e Ch a i r m a n a n d ot h e r m e m b e r s of t h e

Commission shall be appointed by the President after

consu ltat ion with t he Pr ime Minister a nd t he Leader of

the Opposition.

(5) A person sh all not be qualified to hold office as

a member of the Commission where he is a person in

public life or a person exercising a public function or aperson who is n ot a citizen of Trin idad an d Tobago.

(6) Three member s of th e Comm ission of whom

one shall be the Chairman or Deputy Chairman, shall

const itut e a quoru m.

Application

Establishment of

Integrity

Commission



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5. (1) The Commission shall

(a) carry out those functions and exercise thepowers specified in this Act;

(b) receive, exam ine an d r etain all declara tionsfiled with it un der t his Act;

(c) m a k e s u c h e n q u i r i e s a s i t c o n s i d e r snecessary in order to verify or determinethe accuracy of a declaration filed underth is Act;

(d ) c o m p i l e a n d m a i n t a i n a R e g i s t e r o f Interests;

(e) r e c e i v e a n d i n v e s t i g a t e c o m p l a i n t sregarding any alleged breaches of this Actor the commission or any suspected offenceunder the Prevention of Corruption Act;

(f) i n v e s t i g a t e t h e c o n d u c t o f a n y p e r s o nf a l l i n g u n d e r t h e p u r v i e w o f t h eCommission which, in the opinion of theCommission, may be considered dishonestor conducive to corruption;

(g) examine the practices and procedures ofpub l ic bod ies , in o rder to fac i l i t a te thediscovery of corrupt practices;

(h ) ins t ruc t , adv ise and ass i s t the heads o f

public bodies of changes in practices orp r o c e d u r e s wh i c h m a y b e n e c e s s a r y t oredu ce th e occur ren ce of corru pt pra ctices;

(i) car ry ou t p rograms o f pub l ic educa t ioni n t e n d e d t o f o s t e r a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f sta nda rd of integrity;

(j) perform such other functions and exercisesuch powers as ar e required by this Act.

(2) In th e exercise of its powers an d perform an ceof its fun ctions un der t his Act, t he Commission

(a) sha l l no t be sub jec t to the d i rec t ion o r

cont rol of an y oth er per son or a ut hority;(b) m a y i n a l l c a s e s w h e r e i t c o n s i d e r s i t

a p p r op r i a t e t o d o s o, m a k e u s e o f t h eservices or draw upon the expertise of anyl a w e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n c y o r t h e P u b l i cService;

Functions of the

Commission


No. 11 of 1987


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(c) s h a l l h a v e t h e p o w e r t o a u t h o r i s e

investigations, summon witnesses, requirethe production of any reports, documents,other relevant information, and to do allsuch th ings as i t considers necessary orexpedient for th e pur pose of car rying out itsfunctions.

6. (1) A member of the Commission m ay at any timeresign his office by instrument in writing addressed tot h e C h a i r m a n w h o s h a l l f o r t h w i t h c a u s e i t t o b eforwarded to the Pres ident ; and the Chairman may

resign his office by instr um ent in writing addressed tothe Pr esident.

(2) A person sh all cease to be a member of th eC o m m i s s i o n f r o m t h e d a t e o f t h e r e c e i p t o f t h einstrument by the Pr esident.

7. (1) There shall be a Registra r t o the Commissionwho sha ll be a pu blic officer.

(2) The duties of the Registrar sh all be

(a) to att end t he m eetings of the Commission;(b) t o r e c o r d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e

Commission and keep the minutes of eachmeeting in proper form; and

(c) generally to perform such duties connectedwith the work of the Commission as theCommission ma y require.

8. (1) A v a ca n cy in t h e m e m b e r s h i p of t h eCommission occurs

(a) on the death, resignation or revocation ofth e appointm ent of a m ember;

(b) on the absence o f a member f rom th ree

consecutive meetings of the Commission,u n l e s s t h e a b s e n ce i s a p p r o ve d b y t h eP r e s i d en t a f t e r con s u l t a t i on w it h t h eChairman;

(c) on the expiration of the term specified in amember s instr um ent of appointm ent.

Vacancy in

membership


Resignation

Registrar


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(2) A member of th e Commission ma y be removed

from office by the President acting in his discretion forina bility t o discha rge t he fun ctions of his office whet herarising from infirmity of mind or body or any othercause, or for misbeha viour.

(3) T h e a p p oi n t m e n t of a m e m b e r of t h eCommission and the termination of his appointmentwhether by death, resignation or otherwise shall bepublished in t he Gazette.

9. (1) The salaries and allowances of the Chairma n,other members of the Commission and the Registrar

s h a l l b e d e t e r m i n e d b y t h e S a l a r i e s R e v i e wCommission.

(2) T h e C om m i s s i on s h a l l b e p r o vi d e d w it hadequate staff for the prompt and efficient discharge ofits functions un der t he Act.

(3) The sta ff of the Commission shall be publicofficers appoint ed in accorda nce with section 121 of th eC on s t i t u t i on a n d t h e P r e s id e n t m a y cr e a t e s u chdifferent grades of investigating officers as he thinksfit.

(4) All expenses incurr ed by th e Comm ission for

t h e p u r p o s e s o f t h i s Ac t s h a l l b e a c h a r g e o n t h eConsolidated Fu nd.

(5) The Comm ission sh all appoint or employ, onsuch terms and condit ions as i t thinks f i t , any suchother officers and employees as it thinks necessary forth e proper car rying out of its functions un der t his Act;

(6) T h e a p p r o p r i a t e S e r v ice C om m i s s i on m a yapp rove the t ra nsfer of an y officer in th e Pu blic Serviceto any office within the Commission and any publicoff icer so t ransferred shal l , in re la t ion to gra tui ty ,pension or other allowances, be treated as continuing in

th e service of th e Governm ent .

10. The Commission shall not later than 31st Marchi n e a c h y e a r , m a k e a r e p o r t t o P a r l i a m e n t o f i t sactivities in the preceding year and the report shall betabled in the Senate and the House of Representatives

Annual Report t o

Parliament


Remuneration and

staff


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not later than 31st May, so, however, that the reports

shall not disclose particulars of any declaration filedwith th e Commission.

PART II I

F INANCIAL DISCLOSURE

11. (1) A p er s on s h a l l , w it h i n t h r e e m on t h s of becoming a person in public life, complete and file withthe Commission in the prescribed form, a declaration ofh is income, assets and l iabi l i t ies in respect of theprevious year and, thereaf ter , on 31st May in each

succeeding year that he is a person in public life, heshall file further declarations of his income, assets andliabilities.

(2) N o t w it h s t a n d i n g t h e p r o vi s ion s o f s u b -section (1), th e Comm ission m ay, in an y par ticular case,for good cause, extend the time for the furnishing of adeclar at ion for a period not exceeding six mont hs.

(3) The declaration sha ll be in such form a s theCommission may from time to time prescribe and mayb e a c c o m p a n i e d , i f t h e d e c l a r a n t s o wi s h e s , b y as ta tement re la t ing to h is net worth as indicated by

deta ils of his income, ass ets a nd liabilities.(4) The declara tion sh all be filed irrespective of

the fact that during the year in respect of which thedeclaration is required, or in the following year, thedeclar an t ceased t o be a per son in pu blic life.

(5) Where a person in public life dies, th ere shallbe no obligation on the administrator of his estate tofile the declara tion which h e would have been r equiredto file, had he lived.

(6) Where a person who is required to do so failsto file a declaration in accordance with this section or

without reasonable cau se, fails to fur nish par ticular s inaccordance with section 13 or fails to file the statemento f r e g i s t r a b l e i n t e r e s t s u n d e r s e c t i o n 1 4 , t h eCommission shall publish such fact in the Gazette andat least one daily newspaper in circulation in Trinidadan d Tobago.


Duty to furnish

declaration


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(7) The Commission ma y, at anytime after th e

publication referred to in section (6), make an ex parteapplication to the High Court for an order directing

such person to comply with the Act and the Court may,

in add i t ion to making such an o rder , impose such

conditions as it t hinks fit.

(8) A p er s o n w h o fa i l s t o com p l y w it h t h e

directions of the Cour t, comm its a n offence an d is liable

o n c on v i ct i o n t o a f i n e o f on e h u n d r e d a n d f ift y

th ousa nd dollar s.

12. (1) A declarat ion r equired under t his Act, shall

include such particulars as are known to the declarant,

of the income, assets and l iabil i t ies of himself , his

spouse an d his dependent children.

(2) Notwith sta nding subsection (1), where

(a) the spouse was not ordinarily living with

the declarant for a continuous period of six

months dur ing the pe r iod in re la t ion to

which th e declara tion was made; or

(b) a dependent child was not ordinarily living

with the declarant at any time during the

period in relation to which the declaration

was made,

t h e p a r t i c i l a r s r e q u i r e d t o b e f u r n i s h e d b y

subsection (1) shall be limited to assets held by the

spouse or child in trust for, or as agent of the declarant,

except t ha t n oth ing in t his section sh all be const ru ed as

prec lud ing t he Commiss ion from r equ i r ing f rom a

declara nt , any additiona l particulars.

(3) Where a person in public life holds money or

other property in trust for another person, he shall so

state in his declaration but shall not be required to

disclose th e term s of the tr ust .


Contents of

declaration


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(4) For t he purposes of a declaration un der this

Act, the income, assets and liabilities of a person inpublic life include the income, assets and liabilities

acquired, held or incurred by any other person as his

agent or on his behalf.

(5) W h e r e , in a d e cl a r a t i o n fi le d w it h t h e

Comm ission, a person in p ublic life discloses a n income

which is insu fficient to support th e accret ion in value of

th e net assets disclosed so as t o raise the inference th at

there must have been other income to account for the

extent of the acquisition of such assets, the person in

public life will be deemed to have been in possession of

such income which has not been disclosed and the onus

shall be on him to establish the source of that further

income.

13. (1) T h e C om m i s s ion s h a l l e xa m i n e e ve r y

declaration that is f i led and ensure that i t complies

with t he requ irements of the Act , and ma y reques t

fr o m a d e cl a r a n t , a n y i n for m a t i on or e x p la n a t i on

relevan t t o a declara tion m ade by him a nd wh ich would

assist in its examinat ion.

(2) The Commission may require that

(a) a d e c l a r a n t f u r n i s h s u c h p a r t i c u l a r s

relating to his financial affairs as may be

consider ed necessar y;

(b) a dec la ran t o r h i s du ly appo in ted agen t

attend at the offices of the Commission in

order to verify his declar at ion;

(c) a declaration be certified by a chartered or

certified accountant.

(3) W h e r e , u p on a n e xa m i n a t i on u n d e r

subsec t ion (1 ) , the Commiss ion i s sa t i s f i ed tha t a

declara tion h as been fully made, it sh all forwa rd t o the

person in public life, a Certificate of Compliance.


Request for furt her

particulars


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14. (1) A person in pu bl ic l i fe sha l l f ile with his

declara tion u nder section 11, an additiona l stat ement ofregistrable inter ests in th e prescribed form , which sh all

cont ain th e inform at ion r equired by subsection (3).

(2) T h e R e gi s t r a r o f t h e C om m i s s i on s h a l l

c o m p i l e a n d c a u s e t o b e e n t e r e d i n a R e g i s t e r o f

I n t e r e t s , a l l i n for m a t i on f u r n i s h e d p u r s u a n t t o

subsection (1) and shall at the request of any member

of the public, perm it t he in spection of such Regist er.

(3) A s t a t e m e n t of r e gi s t r a b l e in t e r e t s f il ed

under subsection (1) shall contain information relatingto a person in pu blic life in respect of

(a) par ticular s of an y directorships held in an y

compa ny or other corpora te body;

(b) particulars of any contract made with the

State;

(c) the name or description of any company,

par tne rsh ip o r a ssoc ia t ion in which the

person is an investor;

(d ) a concise description of any trust to whichth e person is a beneficiary or tr ust ee;

(e) beneficial interest held in a ny land;

(f) an y fun d to which t he person cont ributes;

(g) p a r t i c u l a r s o f a n y p o l i t i c a l , t r a d e o r

professiona l associat ion t o which t he per son

belongs;

(h ) particulars relating to sources of income;

and

(i) any other substantial interest whether of a

pecun iary na tu re or n ot, which he considers

may appear to ra i se a mate r ia l conf l i c t

between his privat e int erests an d his public

duty.


Register of Interest


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(4) A p e r s on i n p u b l ic li fe s h a l l n ot i f y t h e

R e gi s t r a r of a n y c h a n g e s wh i ch m a y o ccu r i n h i sregistrable interests, within six weeks of such change

occurring.

(5) Not h i n g i n t h i s s e ct i on s h a l l b e t a k e n t o

require disclosur e of the a ctu al am oun t or extent of any

financial benefit, contribution or interests.

15. W h e r e u p o n t h e e xa m i n a t i on r e fe r r e d t o in

section 13, the Commission is of the opinion that it

should enquire further into any declaration so as to

ascert ain whether th ere has been a full disclosur e, it

may advise the President to appoint a tribunal of two

or more of its m embers to condu ct a n enqu iry to verify

the contents of the declaration or the statement filed

with th e Commission.

16. (1) A tribunal appointed under section 15 may

(a) request in writing, that a person in public

life or any other person who the tribunal

reasonably believes has knowledge of the

matters to be enquired into in accordance

with th is Act , a t tend before the t r ibunal

and furnish such further information and

documents as it may require, within such

tim e as m ay be specified;

(b) s u b j e c t t o s e c t i o n 1 7 ( 2 ) , r e q u i r e t h e

Commissioner of Police or any other public

o f f i c e r , t o m a k e a v a i l a b l e t o i t , a n y

information received in the course of any

investigation carried out into the subjectmatter of an enquiry under this Act, and

may direct the Commissioner of Police or

such o ther office r t o make such fu r t he r

enquir ies and invest igat ions as i t th inks

necessary; an d


Further enquiry into

declarations

Powers of the

tribunal


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(c) summon witnesses, require the production

of documents and do all such things as itconsiders necessary or expedient for the

pur pose of car rying out it s functions.

(2) In conducting an enquiry under section 15,

the tribunal shall have and exercise the powers of a

Commission of Enquiry under the Commissions of

Enquiry Act, save that its proceedings shall be held in

private.

(3) An enqu i ry under sec t ion 15 sha l l not be

commenced after f ive years from the date a person

ceases to be a person in public life.

17. (1) Where the Comm ission is satisfied, on th e

basis of an en quiry condu cted u nder section 15 tha t

(a) a breach of any of the provisions of this Act

h a s b e e n c o m m i t t e d , i t s h a l l t a k e s u c h

action as it deems appropriate; or

(b) an offence has been comm itt ed, it sha ll

(i) forth with r efer th e matt er to the

Director of Publ ic Prosecut ions

together with a certified copy of

the declaration in question and a

report of its findings; an d

(ii) forwar d to the Pr esident , a report

of its findings.

(2) Where the Commission determines that the

subject ma tt er of an enquiry un der section 15 is

(a) under investigation by the police or that a

cha rge ha s been laid; or

(b) the subject matter of any proceedings in acourt of law,

the Commission shall hold its own enquiry in abeyance,

pending final disposition of that investigation and those

proceedings.


Matter s to be

referred to Director

of Public

Prosecutions

Chap . 19:01


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18. Where , f rom an enqu i ry under sec t ion 15 , a

tr ibunal f inds that a declarant had in fact made fulldisclosure in his declaration, it shall, if so requested in

writing by the declarant, publish a statement to that

effect in t he Gazette.

19. Where upon a n enquiry a tr ibuna l finds that the

declaration which gave rise to the enquiry was in fact

f u l l a n d p r o p e r , t h e d e c l a r a n t i s e n t i t l e d t o b e

indemnified in respect of all reasonable expenses as

appr oved by the tr ibunal.

20. (1) Declarations filed with the Commission andthe records of the Commission in respect of those

declarations are secret and confidential and shall not

be made public, except where a particular declaration

or record is required to be produced for the purpose of

or in connection with any court proceedings against, or

enquiry in respect of a declarant under this Act, the

Per jury Act , the Prevent ion of Corrupt ion Act , the

Exchange Control Act or the Commissions of Enquiry

Act.

(2) W h e r e a d e cl a r a t i on f il e d w i t h t h eCommission is required to be produced for the purpose

of any proceedings under subsection (1), a copy of the

declaration certified by the Registrar may be delivered

t o t h e D i r e c t o r o f P u b l i c P r o s e c u t i o n s u p o n a n

app licat ion being ma de by wa y of affidavit.

(3) The copy referred to in subsection (2) shall be

admissible in any proceedings under subsection (1) and

sha ll be prima facie evidence of the cont ent s t her eof.

(4) Every member of the Commission and every

person performing any function in the service of, or asa n e m p l o y e e o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n s h a l l t r e a t a l l

declarations and records and information relating to

s u c h d e c l a r a t i o n s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n a s s e c r e t a n d

confidential a nd sh all mak e an d subscribe to an oath of

secrecy to th at effect before a J ust ice of th e Pea ce.


Duty as to secrecy

Chap. 11:14

No. 11 of 1987

Chap. 79:50

Chap. 19:01

Findings of tribuna l

Indemnity


17/30

(5) Every person r equired under subsection (4) to

d e a l wi t h m a t t e r s s p e c i f i e d t h e r e i n a s s e c r e t a n dconfidential who at an ytime comm un icat es or a tt empts

t o c o m m u n i c a t e s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n o r a n y t h i n g

contained in such documents to any person other than

a per son t o whom he is au th orised un der th is Act, sha ll

be gu i l ty o f an o f fence and be l i ab le on summary

conviction to a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand

dollar s and t en year s imprisonm ent.

21. (1) A person in pu blic life who

(a) fails, without reasonable cause, to furnishto th e Commission a declara tion, or furt her

particulars which he is required to furnish

in accordance with the provisions of the

Act;

(b) k n o wi n g ly m a k e s a d e cl a r a t i on t h a t i s

false;

(c) fails, without reasonable cause to give such

i n f o r m a t i o n o r e x p l a n a t i o n a s t h e

Commission or a tr ibunal ma y require;

(d ) fails, without r easona ble cau se to att end an

e n q u i r y b e i n g con d u c t e d b y a t r i b u n a l

appointed under section 15 or knowingly

gives false inform at ion in su ch en quiry,

i s g u i l t y o f a n o f f e n c e , a n d l i a b l e o n s u m m a r y

conviction to a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand

dollar s an d to imprisonm ent for a term of ten years.

(2) Where, a person in public life is deemed to

ha ve been in possession of und isclosed income or a ssetsand fails to account for such further income or assets,

or where upon an enquiry, it is determined that such

other income or assets have existed and the person in

p u b l i c l i fe d e l i b e r a t e l y o m i t t e d t o d i s cl os e s u c h

i n f o r m a t i o n i n t h e d e c l a r a t i o n f i l e d w i t h t h e


Offences relating to

declarations


18/30

Commission, he shall be liable on summary conviction

to a fine of two hu ndr ed an d fifty t housand dollar s a ndimprisonment for a term of ten years, and where the

o ffe n c e i n v o l ve s t h e d e l i b e r a t e n o n - d i s cl os u r e of

propert y th e Cour t ma y, in addition

(a) where the property involved is situated in

Tr in idad an d Tobago, decla re th a t i t be

forfeited to the State;

(b) where t he p r oper ty involved i s s i tua ted

outside of Trinidad and Tobago, order that

an amount equivalent to the value of the

p r o p e r t y (t h e v a l u e t o b e a s s e s s e d a sd i r e ct e d b y t h e C ou r t ) , b e p a i d b y t h e

person in pu blic life to the St at e.

(3) Pr opert y acquired from a person r eferr ed to in

subsect ion (1) by a bona f id e p u r c h a s e r f o r v a l u e

with out n otice of any offence of tha t person a s pr ovided

for in this section is not l iable to forfeiture, but an

amount equivalent to the value of the property or the

price paid by the purchaser, whichever is greater, shall

be paid by the pers on in pu blic life to the St at e.

( 4 ) P a y m e n t o f a l l s u m s d u e t o t h e S t a t ep u r s u a n t t o p a r a g r a p h (b) of subsect ion (1) or to

subsection (2) ma y be enforced in like man ner as a debt

due t o th e Sta te a nd a ny proceedings th ereon on behalf

of th e Stat e may be taken su mma rily.

(5) No prosecution of an offence under this Act

other than an offence under sect ion 20(5) , may be

instituted

(a) without t he wr itten consent of the Director

of Pu blic Pr osecut ions ; or

(b) af te r f ive years f rom the da te when the

person in respect of whose declaration or

financial affairs the alleged offence was

committed, ceased to be a person in public

life.



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22. (1) Where it appears to the Commission that a

breach o f th i s Ac t may have been commit ted o r aconflict of interest may have arisen, it shall order a

person in public life to place his assets or part thereof

in a blind trust for the purposes of this Act on such

terms and condi t ions as the Commission considers

appropriate and file a copy of the trust deed with the

Commission.

(2) Where th e assets of a person in public life are

placed in a blind trust, he need not in his declaration

give more particulars of those assets than the amountand description of these assets placed in that trust and

th e dat e of so doing.

(3) Notwithsta nding an y oth er law relat ing to th e

d u t i e s o f t r u s t e e s , a t r u s t c o m p a n y m a n a g i n g t h e

assets of a person in public life by way of a blind trust

shall reply fully to any enquiries of the Commission

relating to the n atu re an d man agement of the assets in

the blind tr ust.

(4) A b lind t ru s t i s crea t ed when a pe rson inpublic life enters into an agreement with a qualified

tr ust compa ny whereby

(a) all or an y part of his assets a re conveyed to

t h e t r u s t c o m p a n y f o r i t s m a n a g e m e n t ,

administration and control, in its absolute

discretion without recour se or report t o the

persons beneficially ent itled to those asset s;

(b) income derived from the management of

the assets i s to be dis t r ibuted to h im as

agreed;

(c) should the assets be converted into other

assets, that fact is not to be communicated

to him, unti l he ceases to be a person in

public life; an d


Blind trust


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(d ) after he ceases to be a person in public life,

proper and full accounting is to be made toh i m , a s t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e

mana gement of the tru st r equire.

(5) A trust company is a qualified trust company

where

(a) it is incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago

an d is car rying on bu siness in Trinidad a nd

Tobago;

(b) no more than five per cent of the issued

shares in the trust company or its affiliate

is held by the person in public life enteringinto an agreement with it, or by any other

person associated with him; and

(c) t h e p e r s o n i n p u b l i c l i f e h o l d s n o

directorship or office in the trust company

or its a ffiliates.

(6) A company is the affiliate of another where it

holds more th an five per cent of the issued sha res in it.

(7) For the purposes of this section, a person is

associated with an oth er where th at other is

(a) th e spouse or child of th e person;

(b) the partner of the person in a profession,

trade, or commercial undertaking; or

(c) a corporation and any person mentioned in

paragraph (a) t o (b) controls the corpora-

t i o n , i t s h o l d i n g c o r p o r a t i o n o r a

corpora tion affiliat ed with eith er.

(8) In su bsection (7)

(a) child means a child whether of full age or

no t an d inc ludes a ch i ld of th e fami lywit h i n t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e Ma t r i m on i a l

Proceedings and Property Act;

(b) control shall be construed in accordance

with Rule 3 of the Third Schedule of the

Corporation Tax Act.


Chap. 45:51

Chap. 75:02


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PART IV

CODE OF CONDUCT

23. This Pa rt applies to a person in public life an d to

all per sons exercising pu blic functions.

24. (1) A person to whom this Par t appl ies shal l

ensure that he performs his functions and administers

the public resources for which he is responsible in an

effective an d efficient m an ner an d sha ll

(a) b e f a i r a n d i m p a r t i a l i n e x e r c i s i n g h i s

public dut y;(b) afford no undue preferential treatment to

any group or individual;

(c) a r r a n g e h i s p r i v a t e i n t e r e s t s w h e t h e r

pecun iary or otherwise in such a ma nn er as

to maintain public confidence and trust in

his int egrity.

(2) A person t o whom th is Pa rt applies sha ll not

(a) use h is office for t he im proper a dvan cemen t

o f h i s o wn o r h i s f a m i l y s p e r s o n a l o r

f inancia l in teres ts or the in teres t of anyperson;

(b) e n g a g e in a n y t r a n s a c t i on , a c qu i r e a n y

position or have any commercial or other

interest that is incompatible with his office,

fun ction a nd du ty or th e discha rge th ereof;

(c) use public property or s ervices for activities

not r elat ed t o his official work;

(d ) di rec t ly o r ind i rec t ly use h i s o f f ice fo r

private gain.

(3) No person to whom t his Pa rt applies shall be

a party to or shall undertake any project or activity

involving the use of public funds in disregard of the

Financial Orders or other Regulations applicable to

such funds.

Application of Part IV


Use of office


22/30

25. A person to whom this Part applies shall not use

information that is gained in the execution of his officeand which is not avai lable to the general publ ic to

fur th er or seek to fur th er his private interests.

26. A person to whom this Part applies shall not use

his off ice to seek to inf luence a decis ion made by

a n ot h e r p e r s on o r p u b l ic bod y t o fu r t h e r h i s own

private interests.

27. (1) A person to whom this Part applies shall not

a c c e p t a f e e , g i f t o r p e r s o n a l b e n e f i t , e x c e p t

compensat ion author ised by law, that i s connecteddirectly or indirectly with t he perform an ce of his or h e r

du t ies of office.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a gift or

personal benefit that is received as an incident of the

protocol or social obligations that normally accompany

the respons ibilities of office.

(3) Where however a gift or personal benefit

referred to in subsect ion (2) exceeds two thousand

dol la r s in va lue o r where the to ta l va lue rece ived

directly or indirectly from one source in any twelve-month period exceeds two thousand dollars, a person in

public life shall file with his declaration, a statement

indicat ing the nature of the fee , g i f t or benef i t , i t s

sour ce an d th e circum sta nces un der wh ich it was given

or accepted.

28. Matt ers of a confidential n at ur e in t he possession

of persons to whom this Part applies, shall be kept

conf ident ia l unless the performance of duty or the

needs of justice strictly require otherwise, and shall

remain confidential even after separation from service.

29. (1) For the purposes of this Act, a conflict of

interest is deemed to arise if a person in public life or

an y person exercising a public fun ction wer e to ma ke or

Confidentially

Conflict of inter ests


Influence

Gifts

Insider informat ion


23/30

participate in the making of a decision in the execution

of h is off ice and a t the same t ime knows or oughtreasonably to have known, that in the making of the

decis ion, there is an oppor tuni ty e i ther d i rect ly or

indirectly to further his private interests or that of a

mem ber of his fam ily or of an y oth er per son.

(2) Where there is a possible or perceived conflict

of interest, a person to whom this Part applies, shall

d isc lose his in teres t in accordance with prescr ibed

procedures and disqualify himself from any decision-

making process.

30. (1) A person holding off ice under the Publ ic

Service, Judicial and Legal Service, Police Service,

Teaching Ser vice or St a t ut ory Aut hor i t ies Service

Commission, shall upon his appointment, and from

t i m e t o t i m e a s m a y b e r e q u i r e d , de cl a r e t o t h e

a p p r op r i a t e C om m i s s ion i n s u c h f or m a s m a y b e

prescribed

(a) a l l b u s i n e s s , c o m m e r c i a l a n d f i n a n c i a l

i n t e r e s t s a n d a c t i v it i e s i n w h i ch h e i s

engaged; an d

(b) all personal property, assets and liabilitiesi n r e s p e c t o f h i m s e l f , h i s s p o u s e a n d

dependent children,

provided that all information so given shall be treated

as confidentia l.

31. (1) The Commission shall report any breach of

t h i s P a r t t o t h e a p p r o p r i a t e Ho u s e of P a r l ia m e n t ,

Service Commission, Board, or other Authority and to

the Director of Public Prosecutions setting out such

details and par ticular s as it thinks fit.

(2) The appropriate House of Parliament, Service

Commission, Board or other Authority may take such

d i s ci p li n a r y a ct i on i n r e l a t i on t o a r e p or t m a d e

pursuant to subsection (1) as it thinks appropriate in

an y particular case.

Commission to report

breach of this Pa rt

Disclosur e to Ser vice

Commission



24/30

PART V

POWER OF INVESTIGATION

32. (1) A member of the public who wishes to allegeor m ake a complaint th at a person in pu blic life or a nyperson exercising a public fun ction

(a) is in cont ra vention of th is Act;

(b) in relation to the Register of Interests, hasa conflict of int erest ; or

(c) is committing or has committed an offenceunder the Prevention of Corruption Act,

ma y do so in wr iting t o th e Comm ission.

(2) Any person who knowingly an d mischevouslym a k e s o r c a u s e s t o b e m a d e a f a l s e r e p o r t t o t h eCommission or misleads the Commission by givingfalse informat ion or by making fa lse s ta tements oraccusations shall be guilty of an offence and liable onconviction to a fine of two hundred and fifty thousanddollars and a term of imprisonment not exceeding fiveyears.

33. The Commission

(a) ma y on it s own initia tive; or(b) shall upon the complaint of any member of

th e public,consider and enquire into any alleged breaches of theAct or a ny a llegat ions of corr upt or dish onest condu ct.

34. (1) In carr ying out its function u nder section 33,th e Commission ma y

(a) a u t h o r i s e a n i n v e s t i g a t i n g o f f i c e r t oconduc t an enqu i ry in to any a l l eged o rsu spected offence;

(b) require any person, in writing, to produce,within a specified time, all books, records,a c c o u n t s , r e p o r t s , d a t a , s t o r e delectronically or otherwise, or any otherdocuments relating to the functions of anypublic or privat e body;

Complaints

Power of Commission

to investigate

Special powers of

investigation



25/30

(c) require any person, within a specified time,

to provide any inform at ion or to answer an yquestion which the Commission considers

necessary in connection with any enquiry

or invest igation which th e Comm ission is

empowered to condu ct u nder th is Act;

(d ) r e q u i r e t h a t a n y f a c t s , m a t t e r s o r

documents re la t ing to the a l legat ions or

breach, be verified or otherwise ascertained

by oral examination of the person making

th e complaint ;

(e) cause any wi tness to be summoned andexam ined upon oat h.

(2) W h e r e , i n t h e cou r s e of a n y e n q u i r y t h e

Commission is satisfied that there is a need to further

e x p ed i t e i t s i n v e s t i ga t i on s , i t m a y e x er c i s e t h e

following powers:

(a) require any person to furnish a statement

in writing

(i) e n u m e r a t i n g a l l m ov a b l e or

immovable property belonging toor possessed by him in Trinidad

and Tobago or elsewhere, or held

in tr ust for him, an d specifying th e

date on which each such property

was acquired and the considera-

tion paid t herefore, an d explaining

whether it was acquired by way of

p u r c h a s e , g i f t , i n h e r i t a n c e o r

otherwise;

(ii) spec i fy ing an y monies or o th e rproperty acquired in Trinidad and

Tobago or elsewhere or sent out of

Trinidad and Tobago by him or on

h i s b e h a l f d u r i n g a s p e c i f i e d

period;



26/30

(b) r e q u i r e a n y p e r s o n t o f u r n i s h ,

notwithsta nding t he pr ovisions of any otherwritten law to the contrary, all information

in his possession relating to the affairs of

an y suspected person being invest igated

and to produce or furnish any document or

true copy of any document relating to the

person under investigation and which is in

the possession or under the control of the

person r equired to fur nish t he inform at ion;

(c) r e q u i r e t h e m a n a g e r o f a n y b a n k , o r

f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n , i n a d d i t i o n t of u r n i s h i n g i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i f i e d i n

paragraph (b), to furnish any information

or certified copies, of the accounts or the

s t a t e m e n t o f a c c o u n t s a t t h e b a n k o r

financial insti tution of any person being

investigated.

(3) A person wh o fails or refuses t o disclose an y

such information or to produce any such documents,

c om m i t s a n of fe n c e a n d i s l i a b l e t o a f i n e o f on e

hundred and fifty thousand dollars and imprisonment

for a term of three years.

(4) An y p e r s on wh o k n owi n g l y m i s l e a d s t h e

C o m m i s s i o n , o r a n i n v e s t i g a t i n g o f f i c e r o f t h e

Commission, by giving false information, commits an

offence and is l iable on conviction to a f ine of two

hundred and fifty thousand dollars and imprisonment

for a ter m of five year s.

(5) Where after th e condu ct of an investigat ion,

the Commission is satisfied that there are reasonable

g r o u n d s f or s u s p e ct i n g t h a t a n o ffe n c e h a s b e e n

committed, i t shall make a report to the Director of

Public Prosecutions who may take such action as he

thinks appropriate.



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35. T h e r e c o r d s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n a n d a n y

information revealed by a witness or by the productionof documents, shall not be disclosed, other than to such

e x t e n t a s m a y b e n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f

proceedings in a ny cour t relating t o a cha rge un der t his

Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act or any other

writt en law.

36. (1) A person in public life or a person exercising a

public function may, by application in writing, request

t h e C o m m i s s i o n t o g i v e a n o p i n i o n a n d m a k e

recommendations on any matter respecting his own

obligat ions u nder th is Act.

(2) The Commission may make such enquiries as

it considers appropriate and provide th e person making

t h e a p p l i c a t i o n w i t h a w r i t t e n o p i n i o n a n d

recommendations.

(3) The opinion and recommendat ions of the

Comm ission sha ll be privileged inform at ion which ma y

be released only with the consent of th e person m aking

th e a pplicat ion.

37. T h e C o m m i s s i o n m a y o n i t s o w n i n i t i a t i v e

con s i d e r a n y m a t t e r w i t h r e s p e ct t o t h e d u t y o r

obl igat ion of a person under th is Act , where in i t s

opinion it is in t he pu blic int erest to do so.

38. No report concluding th at a per son t o whom th is

Act applies has failed without reasonable justification

to fulfill a duty or obligation under this Act shall be

made until reasonable notice has been given to such

person of the alleged failure and the person has been

allowed full opportunity to be heard either in person orby couns el.

39. No member of the Commission shall be liable to

any action or suit for any matter or thing done by him

un der th is Act.


Pr otection of

information

Request for opinion

Commission to act in

public interest

Notice of adverse

report

Exemption from

liability


28/30

40. The Commission may for specific projects or

investigations enter into contracts for the services ofpersons having technical or specified knowledge of anyma tt er r elating to the work of th e Commission.

41. (1 ) Th e C o m m i s s i on m a y m a k e R e g u l a t i on sprescribing

(a) t h e m a n n e r i n wh i c h e n q u i r i e s m a y b ecar ried out an d an y matt ers incident al to orconsequent ial upon su ch enquiries;

(b) the standard or criteria for the initiation ofsuch enquires;

(c) the manner in which information receivedfr o m t h e p u b l ic wou l d b e a s s e s s e d a n dverified;

(d ) the form of declaration to be submitted anda n y a d d i t i on a l for m s w h i ch h a v e b e enprescribed or which ma y become n ecessar y;

(e) the period within which any information ord o c u m e n t r e q u i r e d b y t h e C o m m i s s i o nshould be fur nish ed or pr oduced;

(f) th e fees tha t a re payable by members of th epublic in respect of a certified copy of a

p u b l ic d ecl a r a t i on s t a t e m e n t a n d t h emanner in which such statements may bemade available;

(g) any matter or thing in respect of which itmay be necessary to make Regulations forcar rying t his Act int o effect.

(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) shallbe subject to the affirmative resolution of Parliament.

42. F o r t h e p u r p o s e o f t h e I n c o m e T a x Ac t , a l loutgoing expenses reasonably incurred in the year of

income by a person in public life in conn ection with th epreparation of a statutory declaration required to befurnished by him for the purposes of th is Act , aredeemed to be incurred by him wholly, exclusively andnecessar ily in t he pr oduction of his income for t ha t yearof income.


Power to enter

contracts

Regulations

Income Tax Act

Chap. 75:01


29/30

43. The Integrity in Public Life Act, 1987 is hereby

repealed.

44. Wh e r e a n y t h i n g h a s b e e n c o m m e n c e d b y o r

under the authority of the Integrity Commission under

the Integrity in Public Life Act, 1987, repealed by this

Act, such thing may be carried out and completed by or

un der t he au th ority of th e Int egrity Commission.

SCHEDULE

(Section 2)

P E RS ON S I N P UBLIC LIF E

l . Members of the House of Representat ives

2 . Ministe r s of Government

3 . Pa r liam en t a r y Secr et a r ie s

4. Members of the Tobago House of Assembly

5. Members of Municipal it ies

6. Members of Local Government Authorit ies

7. M e m be r s of t h e B oa r d s of S t a t u t o r y B od i es a n d S t a t e

Enterprises as prescribed in accordance with section 138(2)

of th e Constitut ion.

Pa ssed in th e Sena te t his 3rd da y of October, 2000.

N. COX

Clerk of the Senate

IT IS H ERE BY CE RTIF IE D that this Act is one the Bill for

which has been passed in the Senate and at the final

vote thereon in the Senate has been supported by the

votes of not less than three-fifths of all the members ofth e Senat e tha t is to say by th e votes of 25 Senators.

N. COX

Clerk of the Senate


Repeal

No. 8 of 1987

Transitional

provisions


30/30

Passed in the House of Representatives this 6th day

of October, 2000.

D. DOLLY

Acting Clerk of the House

IT IS H ERE BY CE RTIF IE D that this Act is one the Bill for

which h as been pa ssed in th e House of Representa tives

and at the f inal vote thereon in the House has been

supported by the votes of not less than three-fifths of

al l the members of the House, that is to say by the

votes of 28 members of the H ouse.

D. DOLLY

Acting Clerk of the House


PR IN TE D B Y T H E GOVERNMENT P RINTER, P ORT -OF -SPAINRE PUBL IC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO2000

integrity in public life act 2000

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