Appeal Court affirms quashing of charges against State Lands boss

A COURT of Appeal has affirmed a judge’s decision to quash disciplinary charges against Commissioner of State Lands (COSL) Paula Drakes.

In a ruling on July 30, Justices of Appeal Mira Dean-Armorer, Vasheist Kokaram, and Malcolm Holdip dismissed the Public Service Commission’s appeal.

The commission contended that Justice Carol Gobin got it wrong in May 2023, when she upheld Drakes’ judicial review lawsuit over the commission’s handling of the misconduct allegations against her and ordered the immediate lifting of her suspension, which was part of the disciplinary process that began almost six years ago.

Gobin also ruled that Drakes could not be classified as a civil servant who could be subject to its disciplinary procedure, as her position was not included under the provisions of the Civil Service Act (CSA). This was the only successful aspect of the commission’s appeal, so Gobin’s declarations on the the commissioner’s jurisdiction to discipline the COSL were set aside.

In their ruling, the judges held, “In our view the trial judge was not wrong to have quashed the proceedings and to have made an order for damages to be assessed.

“While we have concluded that the commission has jurisdiction to discipline the COSL and has the power to interdict the officer pending the determination of the disciplinary proceedings, we have also found that the commission did not, in these proceedings, justify why an interdiction was necessary nor afforded her an opportunity to be heard on whether she should be interdicted.

“We are also of the view that the commission acted irrationally and unfairly in withdrawing the initial charges and instituting fresh charges against her without providing a rational basis for doing so.”

Drakes was appointed in October 2016.

After she was first informed of the charges related to her allegedly allocating state lands to indirect family links in 2018, the commission wrote to her saying no further action would be taken.

Several months later, Drakes was informed of new, amended charges. She was suspended for misconduct in May 2018.

The charges were eventually stayed pending the determination of her lawsuit, in which she claimed the disciplinary process the commission used was in breach of its regulations. In July 2023, the Appeal Court approved a partial stay of some of Gobin’s orders, but left those relating to Drakes's salary, the lifting of her suspension and her reinstatement.

This meant she was allowed to remain COSL with full pay. In her lawsuit, Drake had also complained that pending the outcome of the of the disciplinary proceedings, she was interdicted, with one-half of her salary being paid to her.

She was also prohibited from attending an overseas conference because of the pending charges.

Kokaram, who wrote the unanimous decision, said, “While the commission can lawfully interdict and withhold pay, it did not in this case do so consistently with the principles of fundamental fairness.

“Further, in the absence of lawful charges, there was no basis to deprive the COSL of her opportunity to attend the conference.”

Kokaram said while the commission was a “master of its own procedure, it must conform to its own regulations.”

He also said a constitutional right conferred on public officers cannot be circumvented.

“Public officers such as the COSL are insulated from the direct control of the political directorate where their appointment and disciplinary control fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of independent service commissions.

“The philosophy behind this insulation serves to eliminate any remnant of the arbitrary concept of 'dismissiblity at pleasure' of a public servant by the State.

“It establishes a truism that the disciplinary process of public servants must be seen to be the antithesis of arbitrariness or unreasonableness or oppressiveness and be held to the high standards of transparency, fairness and faithful observance of the principles of administrative justice and constitutional law.

“In this appeal, the process adopted by the commission to discipline the COSL fell short of this high mark.”

Senior Counsel Russell Martineau, Coreen Findley, Nicol Yee Fung, Savitri Maharaj and Radha Sookdeo represented the PSC. Drakes was represented by John Jeremie, SC, Keith Scotland, SC, and Laurina Ramkaran.