Anthony Henry

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed an appeal filed by former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Allen Chastanet, who challenged the withdrawal of customs violation proceedings against the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire.

The appeal stemmed from the discontinuance of a 2020 prosecution brought by the Comptroller of Customs under section 102(3) of the Customs (Control and Management) Act. The case involved Dr Hilaire’s alleged failure to produce a commercial invoice for a vehicle imported into Saint Lucia after his service as High Commissioner in London. Following mediation and a change in government, the new Comptroller of Customs withdrew the matter, and a Magistrate granted leave for the discontinuance.

Chastanet later sought judicial review of the Comptroller’s decision, arguing that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had assumed control of the matter by January 2021, and therefore only the DPP could lawfully discontinue it under the Constitution. He claimed the decision was irrational, politically motivated, and an abuse of power. Both the High Court and Court of Appeal rejected his claim.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Eboe-Osuji, with President Adrian Saunders and Justices Rajnauth-Lee, Barrow, and Ononaiwu concurring, found that the evidence did not support Chastanet’s assertion that the DPP had taken over the case. The court ruled that the forwarding of the file to the DPP and the participation of counsel from that office were insufficient to show the DPP’s control. The court noted that the DPP himself never claimed to have assumed conduct of the case.

The CCJ held that, under section 73(4) of the Constitution, only the DPP may discontinue criminal proceedings. However, where another authority initiates a prosecution, it may withdraw the matter only with the court’s permission. Once the Magistrate granted leave to withdraw, the decision became a judicial act, meaning any challenge should have been directed at the Magistrate’s order, not the Comptroller’s earlier decision.

Justice Barrow, in a concurring opinion, described the remedies sought as illogical, noting that Chastanet simultaneously argued the Comptroller lacked authority to withdraw the case while seeking to compel him to reinstate it.

The appeal was dismissed with no order as to costs.

Chastanet was represented by Garth Patterson, KC, Mark Maragh, Tanya Alexis-Francis, and Akeelia Richards. The respondents were represented by Anthony Astaphan, KC, and Seryozha Cenac.