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A High Court judge ruled that the Defence Force (TTDF) unlawfully denied longtime service member Tracy Courtney a promotion to Warrant Officer Class I, ordering that she be elevated to the rank retroactive to January 5, 2024.

Justice Margaret. Mohammed held that the TTDF applied an “irrational, unfair and unreasonable” promotion criterion, failed to conduct required annual performance appraisals, and deprived Courtney of equal treatment and due process. The court found the Defence Force’s actions breached sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution and frustrated Courtney’s legitimate expectation of promotion.

Courtney, a former Warrant Officer Class II with roughly 30 years of service in the Regiment, claimed she was repeatedly bypassed for promotion while junior colleagues advanced. She argued that the TTDF required two consecutive “very good” performance appraisals that had no legal basis and contradicted longstanding practice in which an overall “good” rating formed the efficiency standard for higher appointments. She also said that she was denied performance assessments from 2019 through 2024 and was never given reasons for the non-recommendations that stalled her career.