Justice Peter Jamadar is a former Justice of Appeal in the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

of the Republic of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. Justice Jamadar served as a Judge in the High Court until his elevation to the

in 2008. As of July 4, 2019, Justice Jamadar has been a judge on the bench of the

Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ or CCtJ; ; ) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Court of Justice has two jurisdictions: an ...

Trinity Cross judgement

One of the most public cases he presided over was High Court Action 2065 of 2004, in the San Fernando High Court. This was a constitutional motion filed by

Satnarayan Maharaj Satnarayan Maharaj , also known as Sat Maharaj, (; 17 April 1931 – 16 November 2019) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian Hindu religious leader, educationalist, and civil rights activist in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Secretary-General of th ...

, secretary general of the

Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (; SDMS), colloquially known as the Maha Sabha, is the largest and most influential Hindu organization in Trinidad and Tobago. It operates 150 mandirs, over 50 schools, and has its own radio station, Radio Jaagriti ...

, and Inshan Ishmael, president of the Islamic Relief Centre. The applicants in the case had challenged the constitutionality of the

Trinity Cross The Trinity Cross (abbreviated T.C. or TC) was the highest of the National Awards of Trinidad and Tobago, between the years 1969 and 2008. It was awarded for: "distinguished and outstanding service to Trinidad and Tobago. It was awarded for gall ...

, Trinidad & Tobago's highest national award, on the grounds that its continued existence and award were in breach of the applicants' fundamental rights as guaranteed by certain Sections of the Constitution. The lawyer for the applicants argued that the State kept the Trinity Cross, knowing that “non-Christians are unable and unwilling to accept (it) because it is perceived to be and/or in fact is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

symbol.” The result is an experience of disparate treatment, or unfair discrimination, for “many deserving non-Christian citizens who... will never be rewarded by the State and country.” In May 2006, Justice Peter Jamadar, a Christian, ruled that "the Trinity Cross-the nation’s highest award-is strictly a Christian symbol, and as a result, it discriminates in a multi-religious society.... In my opinion, leaving aside the savings clause argument for the moment, the respondent has shown no accommodation whatsoever to ameliorate the indirect adverse discriminating effects of the award of the Trinity Cross on the applicants as

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and as corporate citizens representing Hindus and Muslims in T&T." Although he found it to be discriminatory, he said that it does not mean that the court can strike it down. As it was protected by the 1976 constitution, it is a matter for the

Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is composed of the Speake ...

to change.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamadar, Peter 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago judges Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago judges Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent