The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled that Suriname breached the rights of a Trinidad and Tobago national under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), awarding political consultant Derek Anand Ramsamooj US$30,000 in damages following his detention in the South American country.

In a judgment delivered on May 25, the regional court found that Surinamese authorities unlawfully denied Ramsamooj direct access to legal counsel while he was being held under pre-trial detention orders known as “beperking”.

Ramsamooj, a Trinidadian political consultant, had travelled frequently to Suriname since 2014 to provide consultancy services. According to the ruling, his passports were seized by police on October 6, 2020, before he was detained a day later as part of an investigation into alleged fraud linked to the former Surinamese government.

The CCJ said Ramsamooj was held under two consecutive eight-day restriction orders, during which he was denied direct access to a lawyer. He was also interrogated in Dutch through a translator and later signed a Dutch-language statement that was subsequently used in court as a confession.

He remained in pre-trial detention until December 22, 2020, when he was released because of deteriorating health. His passports were not returned until September 2022.

Ramsamooj later brought legal proceedings against Suriname in the CCJ’s Original Jurisdiction after receiving special leave from the court. He argued that his treatment violated CARICOM treaty rights guaranteeing freedom of movement and the right to provide services across the regional bloc.

Suriname denied the claims, arguing that the court did not have jurisdiction over alleged human rights violations and maintained that the restrictions imposed were justified for reasons of public order and safety.

However, the CCJ ruled that CARICOM nationals exercising treaty rights must be protected by minimum human rights standards, including the right to access legal representation.

The court found that the Surinamese legal provision used in the case fell below those standards because it allowed authorities to deny detainees access to counsel during critical stages of detention and interrogation.

“The right of an accused person to have access to a lawyer of his or her choice was found to be one such minimum standard,” the judgment stated.

The court further ruled that Ramsamooj did not need to prove discrimination based on nationality because the denial of legal access itself unlawfully restricted his treaty rights.

While the CCJ declined to award damages for medical expenses or make a declaration regarding his right to provide services, it accepted medical evidence showing Ramsamooj suffered serious health complications during detention, including a coronary event, a stroke, and worsening coronary artery disease.

The court said conditions during his detention “certainly contributed” to the deterioration of his health and awarded him US$30,000 in non-pecuniary damages.

The judges also declared that any confession or admission obtained from Ramsamooj during the unlawful detention could not be relied upon in criminal proceedings without breaching Community law. However, Suriname remains free to continue legal proceedings using evidence obtained independently of the detention.

The CCJ panel hearing the matter included President Justice Adrian Saunders Anderson and Justices Rajnauth-Lee, Barrow, Jamadar, and Ononaiwu.