Inniss v Attorney General of St. Christopher & Nevis

• Jurisdiction: Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Court: High Court (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
• Judge: Lloyd G. Williams
• Judgment Date: 16 July 1984
• Neutral Citation: KN 1984 HC 1
• Docket Number: No. A19 of 1982
• Date: 16 July 1984

High Court.

Williams, J.

No. A19 of 1982

Inniss

and

Attorney General of St. Christopher & Nevis

Appearances

Sir Probyn Inniss in person

Terrance Byron and Emile Ferdinand for the Attorney-General

Pension - Civil servant— — Applicant retired as civil servant after 19 years to become Governor of the State of St. Christopher and Nevis and Anguilla, and held that other office for 6 years and 3 months — Whether service in both positions was public service which could be combined to bring appellant within the Pension Act, Cap. 195, for purpose of pension and gratuity — Governor's (Emoluments and Pensions) Act, No. 11 of 1968, s. 14 and First Proviso — Pension Act, Cap. 195, s. 6(a) as amended by Pensions (Amendment) Act, No. 4 of 1975 — Definitions of “public service” — To satisfy Pension Act, s. 6 and 6(a) applicant must show that he has a right or claim under this Act quite independently of any other Act and must show that for the purposes of the Act he had served for 25 years or had attained the age of 55 years — Application dismissed.

1 Lloyd G. Williams Q.C. The plaintiff is a former Governor of the Associated State of Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla, now Saint Christopher and Nevis and the defendant is the Attorney-General of the said State.

2 The plaintiff filed an Originating Summons in the Supreme Court Registry dated the 27 ^th day of November, 1982 supported by an affidavit bearing the said date and exhibited certain documents thereto. The defendant filed an affidavit in reply dated the 17 ^th day of November, 1983 and to which a document was exhibited.

3 The plaintiff was appointed Governor of the State on the 1sr day of August, 1975 and ceased as Governor the plaintiff was a Permanent Secretary in the State of Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla and he vacated that post on the 31 ^st day of July, 1975 by way of retirement so as to enable him to take up the appointment as Governor.

4 The plaintiff first entered the Civil Service on the 1 ^st day of July, 1956 and by the process of promotions eventually became Permanent Secretary. At the date on which the plaintiff retired as Permanent Secretary he had served approximately nineteen years in the Civil Service and on the date when he ceased to be Governor he had served in that office for approximately six years and three months, making a combined total of twenty-five years and some months.

5 The contention of the plaintiff is that his service in the Civil Service is “public service” and his service as Governor is “public service” and therefore he seek to combine both of these services so as to bring him within Pensions Act, Chapter 195 for the purpose of obtaining pension and gratuity.

6 In his Originating Summons filed on the 27 ^th November, 1982 the plaintiff prays as follows:

7 In his Originating Summons filed on the 27 ^th November, 1982 the plaintiff prays as follows:

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An Order declaring that the plaintiff is entitled to be paid a gratuity and pension with effect from 27th November,, 1981 under and by virtue of The Governor (Emoluments and Pensions) Act, No. 11 of 1967 and the Pensions Act, Chapter 195 as amended after he had served for twenty-five years in a pensionable office in the Public Service of the State of Saint Christopher and Nevis. 2. An Order declaring that the plaintiff is entitled to be remunerated at the rate of $4,000.00 per month, being the salary he was being paid at the date when he ceased to be Governor, in respect of the six months leave which he had earned and accumulated up to 31st July, 1975. 3. An Order declaring that the plaintiff is entitled to be remunerated at the rate of $4,000.00 per month, being the salary he was being paid at the date when he ceased to be Governor, for the six months leave which he had earned and accumulated during his tour of duty as Governor from 1st August, 19\75 to 26th November, 1981. 4. An Order declaring that the plaintiff is entitled to be paid passage grant on the same basis as Permanent Secretary in respect of his tour of duty as Governor of the State of Saint Christopher and Nevis. 5. An Order that provision be made for the costs of this application. 6. Interest 7. An Order for such further or other relief as the nature of the case may require.

8 I will deal with the Orders prayed for in chronological order starting with ground one. The plaintiff relied heavily on section 14 of the Governor's (Emoluments and Pensions) Act, No. 11 of 1968 and the first Proviso thereto.

9 Section 14 reads as follows:

(The pensions granted under the provisions of this Act shall be in lieu of and not in addition to any pension or other benefit payable under the provisions of the Pensions Act from the Consolidated Fund of the State.

(Provided however that where any person is entitled to a pension under this act and would, but for the provisions of this section, have been entitled to a pension or other benefit payable from the Consolidated Fund of the State under the provisions of the Pensions Act, such person may opt to receive such pension or other benefit under the provisions of the Pensions Act instead of a pension under this Act.)

10 The very wording of section 14 and the first proviso thereto contemplates the entitlements of pension to a Governor under the Pensions Act, Chapter 195. (The underlined portion above is done by me for emphasis.)

11 However section 6 (a) of the Pensions Act, Chapter 195 as amended by the Pensions (Amendment) Act, No. 4 of 1975 requires certain conditions to be satisfied before one can obtain a Pension under section 6 of the Pensions Act. Section 6 of the Pensions Act read as follows: “No pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be granted under this Act to any officer except on his retirement from the public service in one of the following cases.” Section 6 (a) as amended is one of such cases and is the relevant one for the purposes of this action. The amended section 6 (a) reads as follows: “after he shall have served twenty-five years in the public service r on or after attaining the age of fifty years (whichever is the earlier).” Hence the attempt by the plaintiff to combine both periods of this “public service” to achieve the twenty-five years.

12 In addition to relying on the Pensions Act, Chapter, 195; the Governor (Emoluments and Pensions) Act, No. 11 of 1968; the Pensions (Amendment) Act, No. 4 of 1975; the plaintiff also made reference to Statutory Rules and Orders No. 9 of 1967 dealing with Pensionable Offices and say that the Schedule of same includes the office of Governor as a pensionable office, and that this supports his arguments.

13 Among other things counsel for the defendant raised the following points:

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That the definition of “public service” although it makes reference to Governor does not and could not have contemplated the office of Governor in an Associated State which office was then in existence. 3. That in any event the definition section excludes Governor for the purposes of computation of pension or gratuity. 4. That the Governor (Emoluments and Pensions) Act, No. 13 of 1967, and that the 1967 Act by dealing only with salary and allowances support the contention that before 1968 the holder of the office of Governor was not entitled to a pension or gratuity. 5. The plaintiff does not satisfy the requirements of section 6 of the Pensions Act in the he has not proved that he retired from the public service. 6. That the plaintiff does not satisfy the requirements of section 6 (a) as amended, in that he must first have been entitled to a pension under the Pensions Act before the first proviso of section 14 of the Governor (Emoluments and Pensions) Act 1968 can come into play (the underlined portion above is done by me for emphasis); and 7. Finally that by section 5 (1) of the Pensions Act the plaintiff does not have an absolute right to pension, gratuity or other allowances.

14 Before dealing with the specific issues raised by both sides the matter ought to be put in proper historical perspective. The Colonial Governors of the post had worked their way through the Colonial Civil Service before finally becoming Governor, in these circumstances there was no difficulty for a Governor to served twenty-five years in the “public service” or attain the age of fifty years while in the said service. However, with the granting of Associated Statehood and the granting of Independence to the respective territories more often than not those persons who were appointed to the office of Governor and Governor-General were not persons who were previously in the Civil Service and therefore it the legislation concerning pensions and gratuity for Governors had remained as it was up to 1967, those new appointees to the post of...