News
AG puts on Decision Making in the Public Service: Avoiding Legal Challenges seminar
#TurksandCaicos, March 9, 2024 – The Attorney General’s Chambers is pleased to have hosted a comprehensive training seminar titled “Decision Making in the Public Service: Avoiding Legal Challenges.” This is the second such seminar hosted by the Civil Litigation Division within the Chambers and was designed to provide valuable insights and practical strategies for senior public service and senior public sector professionals to enhance their decision-making processes and mitigate the risk of legal challenges. It forms part of a series of training offered by the Attorney Chamber’s Chambers.
Senior Public service professionals as well as senior leaders and senior managers in statutory bodies are often tasked with the responsibility of making critical and sometimes complex decisions which have far-reaching implications for their respective organizations as well as for the individuals and the public at large. It is therefore imperative for
The training seminar forms part of the Attorney General’s Chambers key strategic programme delivery to meet its mandate of strengthening decision making in the public sector as a whole. It covered a range of topics essential to effective decision making in the public sector, including: –
- Understanding the Legal Framework: An overview of relevant legislation, regulations, and case law governing decision making in the public sector.
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Procedural Fairness and Due Process: Best practices for ensuring procedural fairness, including consultation, transparency, and the duty to give reasons for decisions.
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Effective Communication and Documentation: The importance of clear and concise communication, record-keeping, and documentation in supporting defensible decision making.
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The Disciplinary process – the investigation, the tribunal and the final decision
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Suspension, Interdiction and Administrative Leave; when and how they are applied and how to mitigate risk of failing to follow the correct procedures
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Decision making and Managing conflicts of Interest
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Case Studies and Practical Examples: Real-world case studies and scenarios illustrating common legal challenges faced by public service professionals, and strategies for avoiding or addressing these challenges.
The seminar was oversubscribed, seeing more than 100 participants. The seminar was hosted over a period of two (2) days at the Palms Resort Conference Room in Providenciales and featured expert speakers and facilitators within the Civil Litigation Division of the Attorney General’s Chambers with practical experience representing the public service and the wider public sector in litigation where decision making forms a central feature of the matters at issue. The Presenters included Principal Crown Counsel Ms Clemar B Hippolyte, Principal Legislative Drafter Ms Desiree Downes, Senior Crown Counsel, Ms Khadija MacFarlane and Mr. Herbert Dakasi and Crown Counsel Ms Tamika Simms Williams. These attorneys form the Civil Litigation division with Ms Downes heading the Legislative Drafting division of the Attorney General’s Chambers. Together , this team of presenters have extensive experience in administrative law, governance, and public sector management and were able to deliver invaluable content and smoothly fielded questions from participants. Participants had the opportunity to engage in interactive discussions, group exercises, and networking opportunities to enhance their learning experience.
Opening the training remotely, Attorney General, Hon. Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles OBE K.C. said “we are excited to offer this training seminar to public service and public sector professionals seeking to enhance their decision-making skills and minimize the risk of legal challenges.
“We see a range of issues as we undertake our work a legal representatives and advisers and it is an important part of our mandate to provide training that will assist in strengthening the capability of public service and public service professionals. We are very pleased with the strong uptake of the seminar.
“By providing practical guidance and insights, my Chambers aim to empower participants to make informed, defensible decisions that uphold the principles of accountability, transparency, and legality.”
Feedback from participants:
“We appreciated the practical takeaways and actionable recommendations provided by the presenters during the two-day seminar. We feel equipped with new tools and techniques to improve our decision-making skills and enhance the quality of their decisions in the workplace.”
“I found the seminar to be highly relevant to our roles and responsibilities as professionals and public servants. The practical insights and strategies shared by the speakers, could be directly applied to decision-making processes in the workplace.”
“The collaborative nature of the seminar facilitated valuable knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning, which I found to be enriching and insightful.”