HIGH Court Judge Devindra Rampersad has ordered the Ministry of Finance to disclose legal fees paid to attorneys and law firms across entities under its portfolio, ruling the State cannot avoid disclosure obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Rampersad upheld a judicial review claim brought by political activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj against the Ministry of Finance over a 2022 FOIA request seeking details of legal fees paid since September 2015.

Maharaj had requested 'a statement of all legal fees paid since September 2015 to present (2022) with the name of each attorney or law firm to whom such payments were made' for public authorities falling under the ministry's portfolio.