While the State has to protect its assets it must ensure that its approach is characterised by fairness and justice.
This was the view of Justice Frank Seepersad yesterday as Valencia squatters Ashiminee Joseph and her daughter-in-law Annessa Maharaj withdrew their lawsuit against the Attorney General as both parties entered into an agreement.
Maharaj’s home was among 15 homes at Pine Avenue which were bulldozed last May. Upon filing the lawsuit against the State last year, Seepersad granted a injunction halting further demolition until the determination of the matter.
The matter only commenced on Tuesday in the Port-of-Spain Supreme Court with Joseph and Maharaj giving evidence.
In approving the consent order yesterday, Seepersad said there can be no entitlement to State lands.
“While the need for an accommodation cannot be dismissed, there needs to be a shift in expectation of citizens and feelings of entitlement needs to be displaced and replaced by attitudes of self empowerment.”
Ultimately, he said, the State has an overriding responsibility to protect its assets and cannot be faulted for its strict enforcement of its legal rights.
“However, in doing so, and whenever the remedy of self-help is implemented, such implementation should factor in, humanitarian concerns and the approach adopted should always be characterised by fairness and justice, the judge said.”
He said the position by the State not to purse costs in this matter was one that was extremely fair and has to applauded.
Seepersad said the circumstances on this case was unfortunate. “The court on the claimants’ evidence formed the view that the claimants were not engaged in land grabbing but they may have operated under the misapprehension of the law and given that the second claimant’s (Joseph) period of possession over the land upon which her house stands, which was not disputed and the lack of clarity as to boundaries which defined her occupation, the first claimant (Maharaj) may have taken the decision to invest $800,000 and erect he structure at Pine Avenue.”
The State was represented by attorney Terrence Bharath while the claimants were represented by attorney Gerald Ramdeen.