Panel Overturns $575K Award In Landmark Immigration Case

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Appeal Court has overturned a landmark award that held the Immigration Department liable for $575,000 in damages and ordered a new trial.

The decision sets aside a ruling by now retired Justice Ruth Bowe-Darville in the case of Dahene Nonord.

The judge awarded the money as compensation for the six-year delay in processing Nonord’ application for Bahamian citizenship.

The court has ordered Nonord’s lawsuit to be heard by another judge.

Nonord’s parents are Haitian citizens and legal residents of The Bahamas.

She was initially granted a Certificate of Identity on April 4, 2011, which expired in April 2016.

She applied for Bahamian citizenship on September 16, 2013, under Article 7 of The Bahamas constitution.

Throughout the application process, she provided the requested documents, was interviewed, and was informed by an immigration officer that she would be contacted later about an oath of allegiance recital date.

But this didnt happen. On October 10, 2017, Nonord was told her file couldn’t be found. She did not become a Bahamian citizen until 2019.