PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — The outgoing president of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Michael de la Bastide, and the president designate, Sir Dennis Byron, have called on regional governments that have not yet joined the regional court to do so. In fact, Sir Dennis said that his first goal as president is to win the confidence of member states of the region.
The two top judges were speaking at a telecast press conference viewed and listened throughout the region, called to introduce the president elect to the media.
Last Friday, the spokesman for justice for the opposition party in Jamaica, A.J. Nicholson, reiterated that the opposition preferred the CCJ as the final court instead of the Privy Council or a Jamaican final appellate court as recently advocated by Prime Minister Bruce Golding.
De la Bastide at the conference on Saturday expressed disappointment that Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean jurisdictions have not made the CCJ its final appellate court since its establishment in 2001.
Although the CCJ is headquartered in Port of Spain and was inaugurated in that capital city in 2005, only Barbados, Belize and Guyana are fully signed on to the court. Trinidad and Tobago and the region have been beholden to foreign jurisdictions to provide a service which can be done locally.
Saying there was value to gained from the CCJ, de la Bastide said, “I leave this court with the conviction that we have a quality court and I think it would be a catastrophe to destroy it or endanger it or not to use it If you have a good thing available for which you have paid, why in heaven’s name don’t you use it?
“When I think of the possibility that people might let this court slip under the waves, I think it’s tragic, forgive me for becoming emotional, but I really think it would not only be a national catastrophe, but a regional catastrophe, this is how strongly I feel about it.”
The Express newspaper reported that the Trinidadian-born outgoing president of the CCJ said as a matter of pride Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean countries should assume full responsibility for their legal process. He said the CCJ was a first class organisation with high standards and a top quality bench of judges.
He said the Privy Council in London was distant not only in physical terms, but also when it comes to an understanding of the region as a whole.
Asked whether the CCJ was weakened by Trinidad and Tobago’s failure to not have it as its final appellate court, de la Bastide said the country was a major source of litigation and its accession to the CCJ would “greatly strengthen the court and solidify its position in the region.”
De la Bastide insisted that there was no political interference as regards the CCJ.
Byron, in a brief address, said he too was concerned that only three member states have designated the CCJ to be their final appellate court, but he said he remained optimistic that more countries would soon be moving away from the Privy Council and moving to the CCJ.
He added, “I firmly believe in the court itself and its importance to the people of the Caribbean Community in helping to establish social stability, economic development and regional integration,” and emphasised, “I certainly undertake and give you the assurance that I will do everything I can to ensure that the court meets the high expectation of all member states.”
Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have expressed their willingness to take steps to remove the Privy Council and accept the CCJ as the final court.
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