Baroness Patricia Scotland
By Caribbean News Now contributor
LONDON, England — Dominica-born Baroness Patricia Scotland, the current Commonwealth secretary-general, has lost yet another case in the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, adding yet more controversy to her already embattled tenure.
The case – Ojiambo v Commonwealth Secretariat – was brought against the Commonwealth by a former deputy secretary-general, Dr Josephine Ojiambo, a Kenyan national.
The Commonwealth Tribunal in a judgment issued on 14 December 2018 found that the Scotland-led Commonwealth Secretariat “breached its contractual obligations to Dr Ojiambo”. Ojiambo will be entitled to compensation and costs that will run in to at least £250,000 not including the Commonwealth Secretariat’s legal and tribunal related costs.
This latest Commonwealth dispute was personally dealt with by Scotland and the Tribunal found her wanting in the application of her mind. The Tribunal recorded in its judgment, “We would have expected to see a clear record of the secretary-general turning her mind to these issues, having regard to the institutional significance of the position of DSG.”
