The Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite is on public record agreeing to the installation of cameras in areas ‘worked’ by Customs Officers. As the minister responsible for advising the government on legal matters it is noteworthy laws do not currently […]exist to support the use of recordings in our Courts.
This is called politicians blowing hot air through the nether regions.
On the face of the issue commonsense suggest the deployment of CCTV to monitor the interactions of Customs Officers with the public is the correct approach. However, there is the other view to support why cameras should not be focussed on Customs Officers when conducting business with the public, especially importers. Here is an extract from the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Article 1 — 24).
Article 10
All information which is by nature confidential or which is provided on a confidential basis for the purposes of customs valuation shall be treated as strictly confidential by the authorities concerned who shall not disclose it without the specific permission of the person or government providing such information, except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial proceedings.
The admission just this week by the Attorney General runs counter to the above, a perspective worthy of consideration at a time when subversive elements have taken deep root in our small country.
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