Public Health Legislation in the Caribbean

Introduction

Law is an important subdiscipline of public health (Gostin et al. 1999), because it is an effective intervention tool to achieve particular public health goals. Law is defined as a body of rules and regulations governing human behavior, which is enforced by the state through its courts of law. As the preservation of the public’s health is among the most important goals of government, the enactment and enforcement of law is a mechanism to influence healthy behavior, health threats, and safety standards.

Public Health law in Trinidad

Trinidad and Tobago inherited a traditional common law legal system from the United Kingdom as colony until independence in 1962. It is based on statutes, enacted by the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament and the application of English common law principles. The doctrine of precedent applies and judgments of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Trinidad and Tobago and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council still the highest court in TTO are...