Legal costs awarded to Corporal Rohan James following reinstatement order

Legal costs have been awarded to Chairman of the Police Federation Corporal Rohan James who has been granted leave to go to the Judicial Review Court to challenge his interdiction. 

Today Supreme Court Judge Tara Carr, who granted leave last month, awarded costs against Assistant Commissioner of Police Andrew Lewis, who is the respondent.

James was interdicted for comments he made in July at a funeral for a colleague. He had criticised the Police High Command for not paying cops their overtime money.

Attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman, who is representing James, said today that legal costs are seldom awarded in judicial review matters.

He explained that James' application was one that warranted legal costs "because of the complexity of the matter and the fact that the Police High Command treated James with contempt for exercising his constitutional right of freedom of expression."

Wildman said he highlighted those points in his written submissions for legal costs.

Wildman said James was simply advocating for his colleagues who were deprived of the benefit of a court order that was not honoured by the Government.

In November, the judge had ordered that James should return to work pending the outcome of the Judicial Review Court's decision.

King's Counsel Peter Champagnie, who is representing Lewis, had opposed the application for legal costs.

-Barbara Gayle

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