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PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS ACT

CHAPTER 19:05

Act
10 of 1872
Amended by
*9 of 1918
16 of 1939
10 of 1960
15 of 1962
19 of 1972
45 of 1979
186/1979
118/1980
147/1984
32/1996
58/1996
104/2002

*See Note on Transferred Provisions on page 2

Current Authorised Pages

Pages Authorised
(inclusive) by L.R.O.
1–8 ..

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2 Chap. 19:05 Public Holidays and Festivals

Note on Subsidiary Legislation

This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.

Note on Transferred Provisions

Sections 67 and 68 of Ordinance 9 of 1918, [the Summary Offences Ordinance—Ch. 4. No. 17
(1950 Ed.)], have been incorporated in this Act as sections 5 and 6.

Note on Omissions
Subsidiary Legislation made under the following sections are omitted:
A. Public Holidays Orders (made under section 4).
B. Carnival Regulations (made under section 5).
C. Carnival Period Proclamations (made under section 5).
D. Public Festivals (Carnival) Orders (made under section 5).
E. Public Holiday Proclamations and Notifications (made under section 6).
N.B. For references to the above Subsidiary Legislations, See the Current Edition of the
Consolidated Acts and Subsidiary Legislation.

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Public Holidays and Festivals Chap. 19:05 3

CHAPTER 19:05

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS ACT

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION

1. Short title.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
2. Interpretation.
3. Certain days to be public holidays.
4. Power to appoint special public holiday and amend Schedule.

PUBLIC FESTIVALS
5. Declaration and regulation of public holidays.
6. Apprehension of offenders.

SCHEDULE.

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4 Chap. 19:05 Public Holidays and Festivals

CHAPTER 19:05

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS ACT

1950 Ed. An Act relating to Public Holidays and Festivals.
Ch. 42. No. 1.
10 of 1872.
Commencement. [6TH JULY 1872]
Short title. 1. This Act may be cited as the Public Holidays and
Festivals Act.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Interpretation. 2. In this Act, the expression “public holiday” means a close
[45 of 1979].
holiday in banks and public offices in Trinidad and Tobago.
Certain days to 3. (1) Subject to this Act, the several days set out in the
be public
holidays. Schedule are public holidays in Trinidad and Tobago.
[45 of 1979].
Schedule. (2) Where a public holiday falls on a Sunday or where two
public holidays fall on the same day, the next following day that (apart
from this subsection) is not a public holiday shall be a public holiday.
Power to 4. (1) The President may by Order appoint any day to be a
appoint
special public public holiday.
holiday and
amend (2) The President may by Order amend the Schedule.
Schedule.
[45 of 1979].
Schedule. (3) If it appears to the President that, in the special
circumstances of any year, it is inexpedient that a day specified in
the Schedule to this Act should be a public holiday, the President
may by Order declare that that day shall not in that year be a public
holiday and appoint another day in place of it; and the day appointed
by the Order shall, in that year, be a public holiday under this Act
instead of the day specified in the Schedule.

PUBLIC FESTIVALS
Declaration *5. (1) For the purposes of this section, the President may,
and regulation
of public by Order, declare any day to be a day of Public Festival in Trinidad
holidays. and Tobago and may specify areas in which and conditions subject
[Ch. 4. No. 17.
(1950 Ed.) to which such public festival may be celebrated.
s. 67
7 of 1954
45 of 1979]. *This section is section 67 of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Ch. 4 No. 17 (1950 Ed.—
now Ch. 11:02) which has been transferred to this Act.

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Public Holidays and Festivals Chap. 19:05 5

(2) The President may make Regulations for the conduct

and management of public festivals or any particular public festival
and for the proper behaviour of persons and the preservation of
the peace at such festivals; and, without prejudice to the generality
of this provision, Regulations made under this subsection may
permit persons to celebrate such festivals in the streets and other
public places with parades, processions, music and fireworks, and
may permit them to throw specified substances at other persons,
to appear masked or otherwise disguised and generally to celebrate
the festivals in any manner that may be prescribed.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) may prohibit any
person from having with him in any public place during the
celebration of a public festival any specified article which in the
opinion of the President may be used for causing injury to the person.
(4) Regulations made under subsection (2) may provide
a penalty for any contravention of such Regulations not exceeding
a fine of one thousand dollars and imprisonment for six months.
(5) Any person who appears in public masked or otherwise
disguised except during a public festival at which he is authorised to
do so by Regulations under subsection (2) is liable to a fine of one
thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six months.
(6) Any person who contravenes any regulation made
under subsection (2) for which no penalty is expressly provided is
liable to a fine of five hundred dollars and to imprisonment for
three months.
(7) In the following subsections of this section the
expression “specified festival” means Carnival or any other public
festival specified for this purpose by Order of the President.
(8) If during a specified festival any person has with him
in any public place any article which by virtue of Regulations made
under subsection (2) he is prohibited from so having, any member
of the Police Service may, if he considers it expedient to do
so,without proceeding to arrest such person, seize and take away
such article. All articles seized under this subsection shall be
forfeited and shall be kept in safe custody by the Police until
disposed of in such manner as the Minister may direct.

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6 Chap. 19:05 Public Holidays and Festivals

(9) If during a specified festival any person shall have

with him in any public place any article which, in the opinion of
a member of the Police Service, is likely to be used for causing
injury to the person, such member of the Police Service, if he
considers it in the interest of the safety of the public to do so,
may, notwithstanding that such article does not fall within the
class of articles specifically prohibited by Regulations made under
subsection (2), seize and take away such article. All articles seized
under this subsection shall be kept in safe custody by the Police,
and if within a period of six months after the specified festival at
which such articles have been seized any person establishes to
the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Police a claim to any
such aritcle, the Commissioner of Police shall cause such article
to be restored to such person. Nothing in this subsection shall
authorise or be construed as authorising the restoration to any
person of any offensive weapon within the meaning of the
Ch. 11:09. Prevention of Crime (Offensive Weapons) Act, but all such
offensive weapons seized under this subsection, and all other
articles so seized which are not claimed within the aforesaid
period of six months shall be forfeited and shall be kept in safe
custody by the Police until disposed of in such manner as the
Minister may direct.
(10) Any person who refuses to deliver up any article
which a member of the Police Service requires to be delivered up
for seizure under subsection (8) or subsection (9), or obstructs any
member of the Police Service when acting in pursuance of any
provision of the said subsections, is liable to a fine of two hundred
and forty dollars and to imprisonment for six months.
(11) In this section—
(a) the expression “Police Service” shall be construed
as including reference to the Supplemental Police
and the Special Reserve Police established under
Ch. 15:02.
Ch. 15:03.
the Supplemental Police Act and the Special
Reserve Police Act, respectively;

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Public Holidays and Festivals Chap. 19:05 7

(b) the expression “public place” includes any

highway and any other premises or place to which
at the material time the public have or are
permitted to have access, whether on payment or
otherwise.
(12) The provisions of subsections (3), (8), (9), (10) and
(11) of this section shall be additional to, and not in derogation of,
the provisions of the Prevention of Crime (Offensive Weapons) Ch. 11:09.
Act, and the validity of Regulations duly made under the authority
of the said subsection (3) shall not be questioned by reason only
that they are repugnant to the provisions of that Act.
(13) A Justice of the Peace shall have jurisdiction to hear
and determine any offence under this section.

*6. Every person committing any offence under section 5 may Apprehension
of offenders.
be apprehended without warrant by any constable— *[Ch. 4. No. 17.
(1950 Ed.).
(a) in whose view any such offence is committed; or s. 68].
(b) upon the complaint of any person upon whom or
at whom any substance, other than a substance
allowed by the Regulations, may have been
thrown, whether in view or not of such constable.

*This section is section 68 of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Ch. 4 No. 17 (1950 Ed.—
now Ch. 11:02) which has been transferred to this Act.

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8 Chap. 19:05 Public Holidays and Festivals

Sections 3 and 4. SCHEDULE

[10 of 1960
15 of 1962 New Year’s Day
19 of 1972 Spiritual Baptist Liberation Shouter Day—30th March
186/1979
118/1980 Good Friday
147/1984 Easter Monday
32/1996
58/1996 Indian Arrival Day—30th May
104 of 2002]. Corpus Christi—first Thursday after Trinity Sunday
Labour Day—19th June
Emancipation Day—1st August
Independence Day—31st August
Republic Day—24th September
Christmas Day—25th December
Boxing Day—26th December
*Eid-ul-Fitr—date to be appointed
*Divali—date to be appointed

*In this Schedule, “date to be appointed” means date to be appointed by

the President by Notification.

Note—Sundays are observed as Common Law Holidays.

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