CCJ: Clear proof of nationality a must for free movement

CLEAR DOCUMENTARY PROOF of nationality must be produced in order for CARICOM citizens to use their rights.

The Caribbean Court Of Justice (CCJ) made the ruling yesterday in a second case before it this month that touched on the issue of free movement of CARICOM nationals.

David Bain, a citizen of both the United States and Grenada, challenged Trinidad and Tobago’s authority to deny him entry after showing his Grenadian driver’s licence and voter’s identification card.

He claimed that his right to freedom of movement was infringed when he was denied entry into the twin-island republic after arriving from Grenada just before midnight on December 14, 2017. He produced a US passport, as his Grenadian passport had expired some years earlier.

Questioned

At Piarco International Airport, immigration officials questioned him about information they had received on a man with the same name with drugrelated convictions. Bain denied any drug convictions, was refused entry and sent back to Grenada on an early December 15 flight, although he had also informed immigration officers he was a citizen of Grenada and entitled to freedom of movement in CARICOM states.

As evidence of his citizenship, he produced his Grenadian driver’s licence, which stated that he was a Grenadian citizen, and his Grenadian voter’s identification card that stated he was born in Grenada. His US passport also listed Grenada as his country of birth.

These documents, Mr Bain argued, should be enough to invoke his right of freedom of movement, as explained by the CCJ in Myrie v State of Barbados. In its judgment, the court determined that, while there was no doubt that Mr Bain is a Grenadian citizen, he did not present sufficient documentation to prove it to the immigration officers. ( PR/AC)