Anand Ramlogan


Anand Ramlogan SC was Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from 28 May 2010 to 2 February 2015.
Ramlogan is also a constitutional and human rights lawyer, having been called to the bar of Trinidad and Tobago in 1996 and the bar of England and Wales in 1994 and was appointed Senior Counsel on 30 December 2011.
He is a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, the holder of an L.L.B. degree and a Master's in Corporate and Commercial Law.
As Attorney General, he was also the titular head of the bar.

Education

He received his primary education at the Reform Presbyterian School and secondary schooling at ASJA Boys' College and Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive, in San Fernando. On completing secondary school, he entered the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, Barbados, to read for his Bachelor of Laws degree.
Ramlogan was awarded several post-graduate scholarships and read for his LLM at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London (now known as the Queen Mary, University of London. Whilst at the Queen Mary & Westfield, he simultaneously pursued a post-graduate diploma in Law at the University of Westminster, courtesy the British Chevening Scholarship and the British Foreign Office Scholarship programme.

Private practice

Anand Ramlogan was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994 and the Bar of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1996. Upon qualifying as an attorney at law, he entered private practice, first, under the tutelage of Lynette Maharaj, SC. After several years he joined the law firm of Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, former Attorney General of Guyana. He eventually established his own chambers—Freedom Law Chambers—on Harris Street, San Fernando.

Political and journalistic activities

In 2007 Anand Ramlogan contested the 2007 General Elections on a Congress of the People ticket as a candidate for the constituency of Tabaquite, losing to Ramesh Maharaj of the United National Congress.
On 17 January 2013, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan initiated legal action against former Miss Universe, Wendy Fitzwilliam.
Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan said yesterday it was “completely false” he was criticised by High Court judge Frank Seepersad on September 30, 2015.
Ramlogan was responding to an article in yesterday's Sunday Express on his conflict of interest in representing two clients in private practice.
The former AG, in a letter to the editor, said the opening paragraph of the story is completely false, adding that he has never been the subject of any criticism by a High Court judge for representing two clients in his private capacity regarding the suite of legislation that was designed to protect the rights of children, which was passed by the People's Partnership government.
Ramlogan made reference to an October 14, 2015 release he issued following statements made by AG Faris al-Rawi on October 12, 2015, during the budget debate, which stated that he was befitting from a flawed piece of legislation.
Passed by the People's Partnership and proclaimed by then-president Anthony Carmona in May 2015, the Children's Community Residences, Foster Care and Nurseries Act makes it unconstitutional to remand juveniles to the Youth Training Centre, St Michael's Home, St Jude's home and the Women's Prison.
At the time, Ramlogan was the lead attorney in a matter where two 15-year-old boys were challenging their detention at the YTC.
Following Al-Rawi's statement in Parliament, Ramlogan, in an October 14, 2015 news release, denied he was benefiting from the flawed legislation.
“For avoidance of doubt, I resigned from the office of Attorney General with effect from the 2nd day of February 2015. The legislation in question was proclaimed long after my departure and it is the lack of implementation by the State that is in issue. As an attorney in private practice, I am well within my rights to represent clients in matters against the State. There is ample precedent for this as many of my predecessors have done so without any similar criticism...”

Attorney generalship

On 26 May 2010, two days after the success of the People's Partnership in the 2010 General Election, Anand Ramlogan was appointed a Senator and Attorney General by Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Under Section 75 of the constitution, the Attorney General must be appointed forthwith after the prime minister in order for the Cabinet to be properly established.
On 2 February 2015, Ramlogan was asked to resign by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar due to allegations that he attempted to bribe a witness in a defamation case between himself and opposition leader Keith Rowley by offering the witness a job in return for refusing to file a witness statement in support of Rowley's case. He subsequently returned to private practice.