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CALDER Hart, former chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) has secured a legal victory at the Privy Council as the court yesterday dismissed an appeal seeking to restore the adverse findings made against him in the Commission of Enquiry (COE) into the failed Las Alturas Towers housing project.

Five judges at the apex court found that the COE had breached the fundamental principles of natural justice by failing to give Hart advance notice and an opportunity to respond to serious criticisms made against him before its 2016 report was published.

The Board’s decision upholds the finding of the local Court of Appeal, meaning the adverse comments and recommendations against Hart in the COE report have been quashed and are of no legal effect.