Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made upon ratification, accession or succession.
For objections thereto and declarations recognizing the competence of the Human Rights Committee under article 41, see hereinafter.)

Trinidad and Tobago 42

       (i) The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right not to apply in full the provision of paragraph 2 of article 4 of the Covenant since section 7 (3) of its Constitution enables Parliament to enact legislation even though it is inconsistent with sections (4) and (5) of the said Constitution;

       (ii) Where at any time there is a lack of suitable prison facilities, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right not to apply article 10 (2) (b) and 10 (3) so far as those provisions require juveniles who are detained to be accommodated separately from adults;

       (iii) The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right not to apply paragraph 2 of article 12 in view of the statutory provisions requiring persons intending to travel abroad to furnish tax clearance certificates;

       (iv) The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right not to apply paragraph 5 of article 14 in view of the fact that section 43 of its Supreme Court of Judicature Act No. 12 of 1962 does not confer on a person convicted on indictment an unqualified right of appeal and that in particular cases, appeal to the Court of Appeal can only be done with the leave of the Court of Appeal itself or of the Privy Council;

       (v) While the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago accepts the principle of compensation for wrongful imprisonment, it is not possible at this time to implement such a principle in accordance with paragraph 6 of article 14 of the Covenant;

       (vi) With reference to the last sentence of paragraph 1 of article 15-"If, subsequent to the commission of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of a lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby", the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago deems this provision to apply exclusively to cases in progress. Consequently, a person who has already been convicted by a final decision shall not benefit from any provision made by law, subsequent to that decision, for the imposition of a lighter penalty.

       (vii) The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right to impose lawful and or reasonable restrictions with respect to the right of assembly under article 21 of the Covenant;

       (viii) The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right not to apply the provision of article 26 of the Covenant in so far as it applies to the holding of property in Trinidad and Tobago, in view of the fact that licences may be granted to or withheld from aliens under the Aliens Landholding Act of Trinidad and Tobago.
Notifications under Article 4 (3) of the Covenant (Derogations)
(Taking into account the important number of these declarations, and in order not to increase excessively the number of pages of the present publication, the text of the notifications has in some cases, exceptionally, been abridged. Unless otherwise indicated, when the notification concerns an extension, the said extension affects those articles of the Covenant originally derogated from, and was decided for the same reasons. The date on the right hand, above the notification, is the date of receipt.)
Trinidad and Tobago

6 November 1990


       (Dated 15 August 1990)

       Proclamation of state of emergency in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as from 28 July 1990 for a period of ninety days and derogation from articles 9, 12, 21 and 14 (3).

18 August 1995


       (Dated 11 August 1995)

       By a Proclamation issued on 3 August 1995, a state of emergency has been declared in the City of Port of Spain as of 3 August 1995 owing to the fact that, as indicated by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, action has been taken or is immediately threatened by persons or bodies of persons of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be likely to endanger the public safety or to deprive the community of supplies or services essential to life. The provisions of the Covenant from which the Government of Trinidiad and Tobago has derogated are articles 9, 12, 14 (3) and 21.

       The said state of emergency was lifted on 7 August 1995 by a resolution of the House of Representatives.

29 September 2011


       By Legal Notice No. 162 of 2011, on 21 August 2011, the President of the Republic of  declared the existence of a state of public emergency in the Republic of . In accordance with Chapter 1:01 of the Constitution of the Republic of , the president of the Republic was satisfied "that action has been taken or is immediately threatened by persons or bodies of persons of such a nature and on so extensive a scale to be likely to endanger the public safety".

       Further, in accordance with Section 10 (1) of the Constitution, the Proclamation was on September 4, 2011 extended by resolution, supported by a simple majority vote of the House of Representatives, for a further period of three months (Legal Notice No. 175 of 2011).

       By the enactment of the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2011 (Legal Notice No. 163 of 2011 and the Emergency Powers (Amendment) Regulations, 2011 (Legal Notice No. 171 of 2011), rights protected by Articles, 9, 12, 14 and 21 are suspended.

22 December 2011


       By note 692 dated 28 September 2011, the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago notified that the state of public emergency declared in Trinidad and Tobago on 21st August 2011, for a period of fifteen days with a further extension by Parliament for a period of three months has ended at midnight on Monday 5th December 2011.

30 June 2021


       The President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency by Proclamation L.N. No. 141 of 2021 which was further extended by Proclamation L.N. NO. 173 of 2021.

       (See depositary notification C.N.214.2021.TREATIES-IV.4 of 12 July 2021)

31 December 2024


       The President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of public emergency by Proclamation (Legal Notice No. 239 of 2024) from 30 December 2024 to 14 January 2025.

       (See depositary notification C.N.552.2024.TREATIES-IV.4 of 16 January 2025)

24 January 2025


       The state of public emergency declared in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was extended on 13 January 2025 for a further period of three months until 14 April 2025 (Legal Notice No. 12 of 2025).

       (See depositary notification C.N.73.2025.TREATIES-IV.4 of 28 January 2025)

22 April 2025


       The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago notified the Secretary-General that the state of public emergency declared in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago ended on 14 April 2025 at 11h59 p.m.

       (See depositary notification C.N.180.2025.TREATIES-IV.4 of 23 April 2025)

10 April 2026


       The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago notified the Secretary-General that the state of public emergency declared in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago effective on 3 March 2026.

       (See depositary notification C.N.145.2025.TREATIES-IV.4 of 20 April 2026)