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CCJ Upholds Minister of Education’s 2008 Suspension
Wed, April 22, 2015

In 2008, it made major news when the Ministry of Education suspended the Principal and Vice Principal of Escuela Secundaria Technica Mexico in the Corozal district. Juanita Lucas and Celia Carillo sued the Ministry saying the suspensions were illegal. The suspensions were set aside by the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal which found that the ministry did not have that power. But Carillo and Lucas went to the CCJ, alleging that the way the investigation was conducted and the way they were suspended violated their fundamental rights such as the right to work, the protection of the law and the right to equal protection. They asked the court to award them damages for these breaches. Today the CCJ dismissed the appeal, when it found that the suspensions were not to punish the Lucas and Carillo, but to allow a proper inquiry into the problems at the school. The court found that no disciplinary action had been taken against them to trigger the protection of the Constitution. The Court noted that the right to work was not a guarantee of continued employment and there was no inference with the Appellants' ability to continue practising their profession. And because they could not prove that any constitutional rights were breached, no award of damages was be made and the alleged hurt feelings and embarrassment suffered by the Appellants could be addressed in the laws relating to defamation, malicious falsehood and judicial review.

The court dismissed the appeal with costs to be paid by Lucas and Carillo. Magali Marin-Young SC served as Attorney-at-law for Lucas and Carillo while Mr Nigel Hawke and Marcia Mohabir appeared for the Chief Education Officer and the Minister of Education.

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