The Constitution provides for an Ombudsman who is an officer of the Parliament and who is required to hold no other office of emolument nor engage in any occupation for reward than the duties of his office. The Ombudsman is appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and shall hold office for a term not exceeding five years and is eligible for reappointment.
The principal function of the Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of administrative injustice in respect to decisions made or acts done or omitted by a Minister or department or authority of Government. In short, the Ombudsman can best be described as a “grievance person” to whom a citizen can make a complaint with a view to redressing the mistakes, delays, rigidity and carelessness of the government bureaucracy. However, the role of the Ombudsman is an advisory one and the consequence of any investigation he makes can only lead to recommendations and the submission of reports by him to relevant persons, authorities or to Parliament.
The Ombudsman is responsible only to Parliament, to which he makes annual reports on the performance of his functions including statistics of the complaints received and the results of his investigations. The office is non-political.
Mrs. Jacqueline Sampson-Meiguel
Mrs. Jacqueline Sampson-Meiguel was appointed sixth Ombudsman of the Repuublic of Trinidad and Tobago by Her Excellency Christine Kangaloo, ORTT, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for a period of three years. She was administered the oath of office by the Honourable Bridgid Annisette-George, MP, Speaker of the House, on Monday, May 20, 2024, in accordance with section 91 (5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Chap. 1:01 before entering upon duties of Office.
Mrs. Sampson Meiguel is an attorney-at-law and a career public servant, having spent some 37 years in the service of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, 29 of those in the capacity of Clerk of the House, who is the Administrative Head and Accounting officer of the Legislature. She also served as Regional Secretary of the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, assisting and advising regional counterparts on parliamentary practice and procedure.
Mrs. Sampson-Meiguel holds a B.Sc. in Public Administration and Law from the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and an M.Sc. in Government from the St. Augustine campus of the UWI in addition to an LLB from the University of London and LEC from the Hugh Wooding Law School, St. Augustine.
View the Website of the Office of the Ombudsman
View the Website of the Office of the Ombudsman here.
(note: this link is to an external website not maintained by the Office of the Parliament)