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9. Public Inquiries
2023 Laws not yet authenticated through a Commencement Order

Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)

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9.   Public Inquiries

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    (1)   Where it appears to the Governor General that it is expedient to hold a public inquiry into the causes and circumstances of an accident to which these Regulations apply, he or she may direct that a public inquiry be held by a Commissioner appointed by him or her; and in any such case any Inspector's investigation relating to the accident shall be discontinued.

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    (2)   The Commissioner (hereinafter called “the Court”) shall be a barrister of not less than 7 years standing. The Court shall be assisted by not less than 2 Assessors possessing aeronautical, engineering or other special skill or knowledge, one of whom may be an Inspector of Accidents. The Assessors shall be appointed by the Governor General.

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    (3)   Where the Governor General has directed a public inquiry to be held, he or she shall remit the case to the Attorney General, and thereafter the preparation and presentation of the case shall be under the direction of the Attorney General: the Inspector of Accidents shall render such assistance to the Court and to the Attorney General as is in his or her power and for that purpose shall have the powers conferred by regulation 7(1) on an Inspector of Accidents with respect to an Inspector's investigation.

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    (4)   Every public inquiry held under these Regulations shall be conducted in such manner that, if a charge is made against any person, that person shall have an opportunity of making a defence.

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    (5)   When a public inquiry has been ordered the Attorney General may cause a notice, to be called a notice of inquiry, to be served upon the owner, operator, hirer and person in command of any aircraft involved in the accident, as well as upon any person who, in his or her opinion, ought to be served with such notice. The notice shall contain a statement of the questions which on the information then in the possession of the Attorney General he or she intends to raise on the hearing of the inquiry, and the Attorney General may, at any time before the hearing of the inquiry, by a subsequent notice amend, add to, or omit any of the questions specified in the notice of inquiry.

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    (6)   The Attorney General, the owner, the operator, the hirer, the person in command and any other person upon whom a notice of inquiry has been served, shall be deemed to be parties to the proceedings.

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    (7)   Any other person, including the Governor General, or his or her nominee, may, by leave of the Court, appear, and any person who so appears shall thereupon become a party to the proceedings.

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    (8)   (i)   The Court shall have, for the purposes of the inquiry, all the powers of a magistrate when acting in the exercise of his or her ordinary jurisdiction, and without prejudice to those powers, the Court may—

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      (a)     enter and inspect, or authorise any person to enter and inspect, any place or building entry or inspection whereof appears to the Court requisite for the purposes of the inquiry;

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      (b)     by summons require the attendance as witnesses of all such persons as the Court thinks fit to call an examine, and require such persons to answer any questions or furnish any information or produce any books, papers, documents and articles which the Court may consider relevant;

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      (c)     administer the oath to any such witness, or require any such witness to make and sign a declaration of the truth of the statements made by him or her in his or her examination.

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      (ii)     The Assessors shall have the same powers of entry and inspection as the Court.

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    (9)   Affidavits and declaration may, by permission of the Court and saving all just exceptions, be used as evidence at the hearing.

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    (10)   At the time and place appointed for holding the inquiry the Court may proceed with the inquiry whether the parties, upon whom a notice of inquiry has been served, or any of them are present or not.

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    (11)   The Court shall hold the inquiry in open Court save to the extent to which the Court is of the opinion that in the interest of justice or in the public interest any part of the evidence, or any argument relating thereto, should be heard in camera.

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    (12)   The proceedings on the inquiry shall commence with the production and examination of witnesses on behalf of the Attorney General. These witnesses, after being examined on behalf of the Attorney General, may be cross-examined by the parties in such order as the Court may direct, and may then be re-examined on behalf of the Attorney General. Questions asked and documents tendered as evidence in course of examination of these witnesses shall not be open to objection merely on the ground that they do or may raise questions which are not contained in or which vary from the questions specified in the notice of inquiry or subsequent notices referred to in paragraph (5) of this regulation.

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    (13)   When the examination of the witnesses produced on behalf of the Attorney General has been concluded, the Attorney General shall state the questions in reference to the accident and the conduct of persons connected with the accident upon which the opinion of the Court is desired. In framing the questions for the opinion of the Court, the Attorney General shall make such modifications in, additions to or omissions from the questions in the notice of inquiry or subsequent notices referred to in paragraph (5) of this regulation, as, having regard to the evidence which has been given, the Attorney General or the Court may think fit.

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    (14)   After the questions for the opinion of the Court have been stated, the Court shall proceed to hear the parties to the proceedings upon and determine the questions so stated. Each party to the proceedings shall be entitled to address the Court and produce witnesses or recall any of the witnesses who have already been examined for further examination and generally adduce evidence. The parties shall be heard and their witnesses examined, cross-examined and re-examined in such order as the Court shall direct. Further witnesses may also be produced and examined on behalf of the Attorney General and may be cross-examined by the parties and re-examined on behalf of the Attorney General.

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    (15)   When the whole of the evidence in relation to the questions for the opinion of the Court has been concluded any of the parties who desires so to do may address the Court upon the evidence and the Court may be addressed in reply upon the whole case on behalf of the Attorney General.

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    (16)   The Court may adjourn the inquiry and from place to place, and where an adjournment is asked for by any party to the inquiry, the Court may impose such terms as to the payment of costs or otherwise as it may think just as a condition of granting the adjournment.

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    (17)   The Court shall make a report to the Governor General stating fully the circumstances of the case and the opinion of the Court touching the causes of the accident and adding any observations and recommendations which the Court thinks fit to make with a view to the preservation of life and the avoidance of similar accidents in future, including a recommendation for the cancellation, suspension or endorsement of any licence, certificate or other document.

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    (18)   Each Assessor shall either sign the report with or without reservations, or state in writing his or her dissent therefrom and his or her reasons for such dissent, and such reservations or dissent and reasons (if any) shall be forwarded to the Governor General with the report. The Governor General shall, unless there are good reasons to the contrary, cause any such report and reservations or dissent and reasons (if any) to be made public wholly or in part in the manner that he or she thinks fit.

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    (19)   A person attending as a witness before the Court shall be allowed such expenses as would be allowed to a witness attending before the High Court, and in case of dispute as to the amount to be allowed, the same shall be referred by the Court to the Registrar of the High Court who on request signed by the Court shall ascertain and certify the proper amount of the expenses. However, in the case of any party to the proceedings or any person in the employment of such a party, any such expenses may be disallowed if the Court, in its discretion, so directs.

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    (20)   The Court may order the costs and expenses of the inquiry, or any part thereof, to be paid by any party, if it finds that the accident was due to the act or default or negligence of that party or of any person in the employment of that party; and any such order shall, on the application of any person entitled to the benefit thereof, be enforced by a magistrate's Court as if the cost and expenses were a penalty imposed by that Court; but subject to any such order such costs and expenses shall be paid on the Warrant of the Governor General by the Director of Finance and Planning.

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    (21)   Any notice, summons or other document issued under this regulation may be served by sending the same by registered post to the last known address of the person to be served.

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    (22)   The service of any notice, summons or other document may be proved by the oath or affidavit of the person by whom it was served.

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