Taylor v Attorney General
| Jurisdiction | Barbados |
| Judge | Douglas, C.J. |
| Judgment Date | 28 September 1972 |
| Neutral Citation | BB 1972 HC 12 |
| Docket Number | No. 345 of 1972 |
| Court | High Court (Barbados) |
| Date | 28 September 1972 |
High Court
Douglas, C.J.
No. 345 of 1972
W.H. Hanschell, Q.C., and J.M. Adams for the applicant.
G. Moe, Q.C., Attorney General, L.I. Worrell, solicitor General (Actg), and S. Reid for the respondent.
Administrative Law — Judicial review
Immigration - Immigration Act — Definition of Prohibited Immigrant
Facts: The applicant sought a declaration that he was domiciled in Barbados or that he had been ordinarily resident in Barbados continuously for a period of 7 years or more for the purposes of s. 53 of the Immigration Act, 1952 and as such should not be deemed a prohibited immigrant for the purposes of that Act — The Act provided for judicial review of decisions — The issue was whether the applicant could obtain judicial review outside of the Act
Facts: The applicant sought a declaration that he was domiciled in Barbados or that he had been ordinarily resident in Barbados continuously for a period of seven years or more for the purposes of s. 53 of the Immigration Act, 1952 and as such should not be deemed a prohibited immigrant for the purposes of that Act — The issue was whether the application should not be entertained in the light of the fact that the Act laid down a procedure for obtaining a determination of the questions
Held: The Act made adequate provision for ensuring that any rights of the applicant may be determined subject to judicial review — It would be wrong for the appellant to use the process of the court to circumvent that procedure.
Held: The Act made adequate provision for ensuring that any rights of the appellant may be determined — Application refused.
In this adjourned summons, the applicant is seeking relief by way of a declaration that he is domiciled in Barbados and/or has been ordinarily resident in the Island continuously for a period of seven years or more for the purposes of s.5 (3) of the Immigration Act 1952, No. 26, and as such should not be deemed a prohibited immigrant for the purposes of the said Act. Secondly he seeks such further or other order as may in the premises seem fit.
In his affidavit supporting his summons the applicant deposes as to his places of residence since 1950 and as to other matters relating to the question of his domicile and at para. 11 states as follows:
“That on or about the 2nd day of March, 1972 application was made for recognition of my right to permanent residence in Barbados at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs but up to the present time, no reply has been received in respect of the said application.”
The Attorney General takes objection in limine and submits that the court should not entertain the application for the reason that when the legislature has by statute laid down a special procedure for the determination of any issue, then that procedure must be followed to the exclusion of the ordinary jurisdiction of the court.
The scheme of the Immigration Act 1952, No. 26, as amended, is the regulation of entry into this country by persons arriving from outside the island. Section 3 charges the Commissioner of Police in his capacity as Chief Immigration Officer with the carrying out of the provisions of the Act. Section 4 prohibits the immigration, except as otherwise provided in the statute, of certain categories of persons, e.g. persons without visible means of support. Section 5, as amended by the Barbados Citizenship Act 1967, No. 50, enacts at sub-s. (1):
“The following persons or classes of persons shall not be prohibited immigrants for the purposes of this Act:–
(2) any person to whom subsection (3) of this section applies;…”
Subsection (2) of s. 5 provides:
“The provisions of this Act relating to prohibited immigrants shall apply to any person enumerated in the preceding subsection in the same manner as such provisions would apply to such person if he were not so enumerated, until such time as such persons satisfies the immigration officer that he comes within the exemption set out therein.”
Subsection (3) is as follows:
“The persons to whom this subsection applies are citizens of Barbados and any person, other than a citizen of Barbados, who is a Commonwealth citizen and –
(a) …
(b) is domiciled in the Island; or
(a) has been ordinarily resident in the Island continuously for a period of seven years or more and since the completion of such period of residence has not been ordinarily resident in any place outside the Island continuously for a period of seven years or more;…”
From the foregoing it would appear that the statute lays down the procedure for obtaining a...
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