(Supreme Court of the Bahamas) The plaintiff had been wrongfully arrested and humiliated publicly at an airport. He claimed exemplary damages. In assessing the exemplary damages in a court should take account of the injury the plaintiff has endured to his dignity and pride, mental suffering and loss of reputation: ‘Exemplary damages should be awarded in view of the arrogant, abusive and outrageous disregard shown by the police for the law, in particular, their delay in producing documents; the manner in which the defence was conducted; and the fact that liability was not conceded until the sixth and ninth days of the trial and even then with no appropriate apology being offered to the plaintiff. The police should be made aware of the need to observe the requirements as to when they may arrest and detain a person without a warrant and the way in which a person so detained must be humanely treated.’
Citations:
(1994) 45 WIR 7, [1994] ICHRL 5
Links:
Cited by:
Cited – Takitota v The Attorney General and Others PC 18-Mar-2009
Bahamas – The claimant appeald as to the amount of compensation awarded to him for his unlawful detention for over eight years, in appalling prison conditions. The Court of Appeal categorised his treatment not only as ‘less than humane’ but as a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Commonwealth, Damages, Constitutional, Torts – Other
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.471044