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31st January 2012
OECS Eyes CCJ
Micah George

Heads of Government of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States earlier this week agreed to commit to acceding to the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) within the shortest possible time.
The commitment comes at a time when CARICOM is hoping more countries in the region accept the court as their court of last resort. At present there is still some lingering opposition to the CCJ. That opposition is from the legal fraternity and governments of some countries.
According to a report on the CCJ’s website “Surveys in some Member States, however, have showed as many as 80% of the persons surveyed supported the Court. In some jurisdictions, while there is little opposition to the Court in its original jurisdiction, there is more opposition to it in its appellate jurisdiction.”
It has been noted that opposition to the CCJ was informed by various considerations, such as suspicion of the unknown and professional resistance to change. Some members of the legal fraternity in the region also entertained reservations about the ability and willingness of Member States of the Caribbean Community to provide adequate funding for the Court on a sustainable basis.
According to the website other stakeholders question the likelihood of the CCJ attracting to its benches judges of the required expertise and legal erudition to inspire confidence among members of the legal community and litigants generally.

 
 

However, it has been pointed out that all of the above considerations have been addressed. In fact defenders of the Court perceived it as completing the independence of the Commonwealth Caribbean States. Other supporters of the Court are of the view that an indigenous Court consisting of regional judges is best suited to pronounce on issues of regional importance and, in so doing, contribute to the development of a regional jurisprudence.
The commitment of the OECS Heads of Government to the CCJ came at their 54th Meeting in Saint Lucia held over a two day period (Monday – Tuesday) of this week.
Saint Kitts and Nevis and Dominica were said to be best placed constitutionally to take steps to accede to the CCJ’s appellate jurisdiction during the course of this year.
Saint Lucia, it was noted, would seek from the OECS Court of Appeal an advisory opinion on aspects of its Constitution which impact on its accession to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ.
Regarding the British Overseas Territories that are part of the OECS it was said that they would have to engage with Her Majesty’s Government on the issue.

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