State privileges and immunities

Trinidad and Tobago

The Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

CHAPTER 3
THE PRESIDENT

38. Immunities of President


38. (1) Subject to section 36, the President shall not be answerable to any Court for the performance of the functions of his office or for any act done by him in the performance of those functions.

(2) Without the fiat of the Director of Public Prosecutions, no criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against the President in any Court during his term of office and no process for the President’s arrest or imprisonment shall be issued from any Court or shall be executed during his term of office.

(3) No civil proceedings in which relief is claimed against the President shall be instituted during his term of office in any Court in respect of any act done by him in his personal capacity whether before or after he entered the office of President, except on the condition specified in subsection (4).

(4) The condition referred to in subsection (3) is that two months must elapse after a notice in writing has been served on him either by registered post or by being left at his office stating the nature of the proceedings, the cause of action, the name, description and address of the party instituting the proceedings and the relief claimed.

(5) A period of limitation prescribed by law shall not run in favour of the President in respect of a civil action during the period of two months after a notice in respect of that action has been served on him under subsection (4).

CHAPTER 4
PARLIAMENT

PART II
POWERS, PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURE OF PARLIAMENT

55. Privileges and immunities of Parliament

55. (2) No civil or criminal proceedings may be instituted against any member of either House for words spoken before, or written in a report to, the House of which he is a member or in which he has a right of audience under section 62 or a committee thereof or any joint committee or meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives or by reason of any matter or thing brought by him therein by petition, bill, resolution, motion or otherwise; or for the publication by or under the authority of either House of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.

(3) In other respects, the powers, privileges and immunities of each House and of the members and the committees of each House, shall be such as may from time to time be prescribed by Parliament after the commencement of this Constitution and until so defined shall be those of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and of its members and committees at the commencement of this Constitution.

(4) A person called to give any evidence before either House or any committee shall enjoy the same privileges and immunities as a member of either House.

CHAPTER 6
THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS AND THE OMBUDSMAN

PART II
OMBUDSMAN

98. Prescribed matters concerning Ombudsman

(5) No proceedings, civil or criminal, may lie against the Ombudsman, or against any person holding an office or appointment under him for anything he may do or report or say in the course of the exercise or intended exercise of the functions of the Ombudsman under this Constitution, unless it is shown that he acted in bad faith.

(6) The Ombudsman, and any person holding office or appointment under him may not be called to give evidence in any Court, or in any proceedings of a judicial nature, in respect of anything coming to his knowledge in the exercise of his functions.

(7) Anything said or any information supplied or any document, paper or thing produced by any person in the course any enquiry by or proceedings before an Ombudsman under this Constitution is privileged in the same manner as if the enquiry or proceedings were proceedings in a Court.

(8) No proceeding of the Ombudsman may be held bad for want of form and, except on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, no proceeding or decision of an Ombudsman is liable to be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called in question in any Court.

The International Criminal Court Act 2006

PART III
GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE

Official Capacity of Suspect or Accused no Bar to Request
31. (1) The existence of any immunity or special procedural rule attaching to the official capacity of any person is not a ground for—
(a) refusing or postponing the execution of a request for surrender or other assistance by the ICC;
(b) holding that a person is ineligible for surrender, transfer, or removal to the ICC or another State under this Act; or

(c) holding that a person is not obliged to provide the assistance sought in a request by the ICC.
(2) Subsection (1) applies subject to sections 66 and 120, but notwithstanding any other enactment or rule of law.

Rome Statute

Article 27 Irrelevance of official capacity

2. Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.

Article 98 Cooperation with respect to waiver of immunity and consent to surrender

1. The Court may not proceed with a request for surrender or assistance which would require the requested State to act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the State or diplomatic immunity of a person or property of a third State, unless the Court can first obtain the cooperation of that third State for the waiver of the immunity.

2. The Court may not proceed with a request for surrender which would require the requested State to act inconsistently with its obligations under international agreements pursuant to which the consent of a sending State is required to surrender a person of that State to the Court, unless the Court can first obtain the cooperation of the sending State for the giving of consent for the surrender.

APIC

ARTICLE 27 Social Security

From the date on which the Court establishes a social security scheme, the persons referred to in articles 15, 16 and 17 shall, with respect to services rendered for the Court, be exempt from all compulsory contributions to national social security schemes.