Spotlight - Industrial Court

Careers

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Courtesy Visit of the Chief Justice of Bahamas [14 August 2019]

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The Chief Justice of the Bahamas, the Honourable Mr. Justice Brian Moree (second from left) was welcomed to the Industrial Court (IC) by the Vice President, His Honour Mr. Herbert Soverall (second from right) on a courtesy visit to the Industrial Court on August 14, 2019.

Seated from left: the Honourable Bernard Turner and the Honourable Ian Winder, Justices of the Supreme Court, Bahamas.

Standing from left: Mrs. Youland Robinson, Court Administrator, IC; Mr. Henryk Montygierd, Consultant to the Inter-Amercian Development Bank (IDB); Dr. Dorcas Cox, Project Coordinator, IDB; Ms. Camille Darville-Gomez, Registrar for the Supreme Court, Bahamas; Mrs. Kathy-Ann Alexander-Fraser, Registrar, IC; Mr. Drazen Komarica, Information Technology Consultant, Bahamas; Dr. Sandra Dean Patterson, Director of the Crisis Centre, Bahamas and Mr. Vernal Collie of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, Bahamas.

Library Collections

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The library’s collection consists of both primary and secondary resources - judgments, ILO reports, law reports, monographs, statutes, periodicals, information files, speeches, laws and electronic resources on industrial relations, employment, trade unions, management, economics and other peripheral subjects. The North Library collection consists of over 6,000 books, 37 Series titles and about 25 law reports. The South Library has over 3,500 books, 20 Series titles and 8 law reports.

The monographs are classified according to the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) scheme. Periodicals/journals and Law Reports are arranged in strictly alphabetical order.

Judgment Collection:

This collection consists of all Judgments delivered at the Industrial Court since 1965 as well as the relevant Court of Appeal / High Court judgment.

Books:

Texts on employment law, industrial relations, occupational health and safety, business, leadership, management, economics, psychology, legal writing and other related subjects.

Law Reports:

Our collection of law reports range from All England Law Reports to West Indian Law Reports. See full listing below:

Atkins Court Forms
All England Law Reports
Commonwealth Law Reports
Dominion Law Report
Halsbury's Law of England
Industrial Cases Report
International Labour Law Report
Knights Industrial Reports
Labour Arbitration Cases
New South Wales Law Reports
New Zealand Law Reports
Times Law Reports
Trinidad and Tobago Law Reports
Union Labour Reports
West Indian Reports

Information Files:

The daily newspapers are indexed on topics relevant to the Court.

Journals:

The collection consist of legal, social, and economic related journals.

Online Databases:

The Library subscribes to the LEXISNEXIS databases. This is accessed by authorized personnel only.

Special Collections:

International Labour Organization publications
Speeches (Special sitting speeches and papers presented by the President of the Industrial Court, as well as past presidents and member)
Industrial Court bibliography – Newspaper articles, journal articles, book extracts as it relates to the discussion on the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago. Video presentation: A historical perspective of the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago.historical perspective of the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago.
50th Anniversary historical magazine - This historical magazine titled "Journey to Gold: Industrial Court 1965-2015" features personal experiences and views from industrial relations practitioners as well as past and present judges. It also presents the Hansard records of the debate on the Industrial Stabilization Bill in the House of Representatives.

Her Honour Ms. Deborah Thomas-Felix

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Dec 13, 2011 - Dec 12, 2023

Mrs. Deborah Thomas-Felix, is known for her wealth of experience as a judicial officer and Court administrator. In 1990 Mrs. Thomas-Felix became the youngest person in Trinidad and Tobago to be elevated to the bench as Magistrate after practicing as an Attorney at Law. Within four short years she attained the position of Senior Magistrate. In 1995, she made a career shift to assist the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the structuring and establishment of the Family Court of St Vincent and the Grenadines of which she became President. This court was the first Family Court to be established in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

By the year 2001, after a period of acting as Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Thomas-Felix attained the additional distinction of being the first woman to ever hold the position of Deputy Chief Magistrate in Trinidad and Tobago. Mrs. Thomas-Felix was elevated to the position of Member of the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago in 2003 and she served in that position for six years.

In 2009, Mrs. Thomas-Felix became the first woman (third Chairman) to be appointed by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as the Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission. On December 13, 2011, after two (2) years of serving as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mrs. Thomas-Felix was appointed President, Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago. When His Excellency the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago appointed Mrs. Thomas-Felix as President of the Industrial Court she became the first female to be appointed in that position and she now serves as the sixth President of the Industrial Court.

In December 2014, Mrs. Thomas-Felix was appointed a Judge of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT). She became the first Caribbean national to be appointed to that position. In 2015, she was elected Second Vice President and in June 2016, became the eighth President of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal. On November 12, 2015, she was appointed by the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as a Member of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations – a Committee composed of twenty (20) of the world’s most eminent legal luminaries who are responsible for monitoring the application of international labour standards. She became the first Trinidad and Tobago national to be appointed a Member of the Committee. In 2017, she co-chaired the first High-Level Seminar on International Administrative Tribunal titled “An in-depth discussion on institutional and jurisprudence issues” at the European Public Law Organisation in Attica, Greece. On March 1, 2020, Mrs. Thomas-Felix was appointed a Member of the International Monetary Fund Administrative Tribunal (IMFAT), an independent judicial forum for the resolution of employment disputes arising between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its staff members. Like the United Nations Appeal Tribunal, she became the first Caribbean national to be appointed to that position.

Mrs. Thomas-Felix is the holder of a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados and a Certificate of Legal Education (LEC) from the Sir Hugh Wooding Law School, St. Augustine, Trinidad. She also holds a Masters of Law degree (LLM) in International Legal Studies from the American University’s Washington College of Law, Washington D.C, USA. Her core areas of study for the LLM included International Criminal Law, Judicial Reform, International Finance and Sustainable Development Law, Gender Studies and International Environmental Advocacy. Mrs. Thomas-Felix is also the holder of an Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) with distinction from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business of the University of the West Indies. She is certified in International Arbitration in Oil and Gas cases, Mediation and Conciliation and also has certification in Global Development and Social Justice from the Emory University in Atlanta, U.S.A.

A Fulbright scholar of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Programme, Mrs. Thomas-Felix pursued her fellowship at American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington DC, USA. Her field of specialisation for that fellowship is Environmental Law and Health and Safety. She is the recipient of two other fellowships namely the Georgetown University Leadership Fellowship and the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute Fellowship. Mrs. Thomas-Felix currently serves as a resource person for the Fulbright/ Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Programme. She is also one of the pioneers of the Trinidad and Tobago Judicial Education Committee/ Institute. Mrs. Thomas-Felix attained the distinguished honour of Alumna of the Month for November 2014 from the University of the West Indies Alumni Association Barbados Chapter, for her substantial contribution to the legal fraternity locally, regionally and internationally. In June 2017, Mrs. Thomas-Felix received the Mayoral Award for National Service from the Port-of-Spain City Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago and in October 2018, she was among seventy of the most distinguished alumni in the region to be awarded for outstanding leadership by the University of the West Indies.

She is a published author who co-authored the Judicial Training and Resource Manual entitled “Domestic and Gender-Based Violence” (2003). She has also authored two books on labour law titled “Labour Law in the Commonwealth Caribbean: The Practice of Good Industrial Relations in the 21st Century” (2021) and “Labour Law and Good Industrial Relations: Progressive Discipline and Maternity Protection in the Workplace” (2022). The books are available at www.trendsinlabourlaw.com and on Amazon.

Useful Links

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Digital Legislative Library

Employers’ Consultative Association of Trinidad and Tobago

International Labour Organization

Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago

Ministry of Labour

The Caribbean Court of Justice

The Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago

The Occupational Safety and Health Authority and Agency

Trinidad and Tobago Parliament

Judgments

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Sample of an Occupation Safety and Health Complaint

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Forms and Documents

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Libraries

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Research Resources

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Bibliographies:

These are Librarian-created guides to resources on a wide variety of topics.

Online resources:

These are useful legal websites

Basic Legal Citation (2011)

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (online ed. 2011) by Peter W. Martin. This work first appeared in 1993. It was most recently revised in the fall of 2011 to take account of changes in the citation rules of a number of U.S. jurisdictions, having been revised the year before to reflect the appearance of the fourth edition of the ALWD Citation Manual and the nineteenth edition of The Bluebook, both published in 2010.

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations

Legal abbreviations can be a puzzle to both new students and experienced professionals. This web-based service allows you to search for the meaning of abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States, including those covering international and comparative law. A wide selection of major foreign language law publications is also included. Publications from over 295 jurisdictions are featured in the Index. The database mainly covers law reports and law periodicals, but some legislative publications and major textbooks are also included. The Index is still under development.

International Labour Organization

The ILO is the international organization responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards. It is the only 'tripartite' United Nations agency that brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programmes promoting Decent Work for all.

Digital Legislative Library

Providing easy access to the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago from 1838 to 2014. This website is owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. It was created and is being continuously updated and managed by the Law Revision Commission which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Legal Affairs. This site enables not only point-in-time searching which allows the law to be viewed at specified times in consolidated form but also gives access to the amending legislation which would have altered the laws over time. An interesting and notable feature of the site is that it includes those available volumes of the Federal Laws which would have been applicable to Trinidad and Tobago during the years of the West Indian Federation.

Law Libraries

These libraries are an invaluable source of information and caters to the diverse needs of their clientele.

Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development

The Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development is the Government’s implementation arm for the national strategies and realization of the goals/objectives for the labour sector. Influenced by regional hemispheric and international obligations, the work of the Ministry is multi-dimensional in its approach as it aims for the continuous encouragement of a sustainable, productive, and stable industrial relations climate in the work place.
QUICK LINK: MoLSED Documents Library (contains information legislation, acts, by-laws and reports)