Cayman: Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal (RPAT)
The Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal (“RPAT”) is established in accordance with Section 112 (1) and (2) of the Customs and Border Control Act (“the Act”) and shall consist of the following members:
- A chairman;
- A deputy chairman; and
- Three other members;
all of whom shall be appointed by and hold office at the pleasure of the Cabinet.
RPAT is an Appeal Tribunal which considers asylum appeals in the Cayman Islands. The members of the Tribunal are not members of the Police, or members of WORC or Customs and Border Control, nor are they members of any other Government Enforcement Authority. RPAT members are citizens of the Cayman Islands independently appointed to consider asylum appeal applications.
The Coordinator and the Secretaries of the Appeals Tribunal Secretariat provide administrative and secretarial support to RPAT with the processing of appeals against the decision of the Director of Customs and Border Control to refuse asylum.
The majority of the documents held by the Appeals Tribunal Secretariat are exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act by virtue of section 23(1) and the Data Protection Act, as releasing applications, minutes and outcomes of meetings and other reports would amount to an unreasonable disclosure of personal information. However, such information may be released to a third party if there is overriding public interest in the disclosure under section 26 of the FOI Act. Individuals also have a statutory right under section 23(2) of the FOI Act and the Data Protection Act to view their own personal information held by public authorities. FOI and Personal Data requests must be made for these records in all cases and the Information Manager will make a decision on each application.
Members
| Langston Sibblies | Chair |
| Olivaire Watler | Deputy Chair |
| John Harris | Member |
| Orrett Connor | Member |
| Martin Davies | Member |
| Trisha CuffySheena Bush | Secretaries [non-voting] |
In accordance with Section 112 (6) of the Act – “Any member of the Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal, who, without obtaining the prior written permission of the chairman, is absent from more than two out of five consecutive meetings of that Tribunal shall cease to be a member of the Tribunal.”
