The Trinidad & Tobago Express reports on a fascinating opinion issued Friday by the High Court of Justice in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision found that the creation and continued existence of the Trinity Cross as the nation’s highest award amounts to indirect discrimination against Hindus and Muslims. Justice Peter Jamadar wrote that in light of Trinidad & Tobago’s history, the words "Trinity" and "cross" are understood as referring to the blessed trinity and the Christian religion. However, the court dismissed the case without granting relief because the country’s 1976 Constitution has in it a savings clause providing that nothing in the Constitution’s declaration of rights and freedoms shall invalidate legislation existing at the time the Constitution was adopted. So while the Court refused to order the government to create a new symbol to replace the Trinity Cross, Justice Jamadar urged the government to engage in public consultation to consider removing all religious symbolism in the design and naming of national awards.
As debate rages in the United States about the impact of foreign law on the development of U.S. constitutional doctrines, one might wonder whether this case portends a challenge to the U.S. Army’s second highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the comparable Navy Cross and Air Force Cross.
