PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD, JULY 9, 2018 – SUCCESS AT ARBITRATION FOR NEW CITY CHAMBERS TEAM.
Dr. Emir Crowne, Mr. Matthew G W Gayle and Ms. Sheriza Khan represented Dexter St. Louis in an arbitration invoked by the acclaimed athlete on June 19th, 2018 against the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Association (“TTTTA”) pursuant to article 31 of the TTOC’s Constitution. The arbitration was held on July 4th and 6th, 2018.
Mr. St. Louis, who has an ongoing High Court action against the TTTA was again by-passed for selection by the sporting body’s selection committee, this time for the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games (the “CAC Games”).
President of the TTTTA and chair of the selection committee, which rejected St. Louis in favour of other less qualified candidates gave extensive evidence to the arbitral panel chaired by sports lawyer Tyrone Marcus. Mr. Stefan Fabien and Mr. Christophe Brathwaite, themselves sports lawyers, rounded out the panel of three.
The panel heard how Mr. St. Louis had been specifically excluded from the qualifier games in Cuba and that “economic” factors had been considered in the course of selection. More specifically, that the selection committee gave “the nod” to those players who had self-funded for the qualifier games in Cuba, automatically selecting them to the upcoming CAC Games on that basis alone.
In its operative decision, the panel held that the decision was flawed and that it be re-done by a differently constituted selection committee. The reasoned decision of the panel is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 10th, 2018.
The decision of the panel is to be applauded as a progressive step in eradicating corruption, unfairness and bias in team selection decisions. St. Louis, who always maintained that selections should be done transparently and on the basis of merit, is now hopeful that future team selections will be based entirely on written selection criteria and decided upon by an impartial committee.
About New City Chambers:
New City Chambers is a boutique litigation and dispute resolution chambers located in the heart of Port-of-Spain. The chambers comprise of barristers, attorneys-at-law, arbitrators and intellectual property agents.
Contact:
Mr. Matthew Gayle,
Barrister & Attorney-at-Law
New City Chambers,
9b Charles Street, Port-of-Spain,
Trinidad, W.I.
