Come February, Dominica will be joining Belize, Guyana and Barbados in making the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) its final appellate court.
This means that the island will be cutting all ties with the London-based Privy Council.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, on state-owned DBS Radio on Monday evening.
He said presently there are some administrative matters being worked out as the move is being finalized.
“There are some administrative matters that we would have to take into consideration but we expect the court to come into full effect for Dominica by early February 2015,” Skerrit stated.
He said the move is a momentous opportunity for the country.
“Certainly, as we indicated last year, this is one of the historic opportunities for Dominica and it would mean that allowing our ordinary citizens to have greater access to the judiciary system,” he said. “So we are very keen on seeing the operationalization of the court in its final jurisdiction for the Commonwealth of Dominica.”
In January of 2014, Dominica received approval from Britain to leave the Privy Council and join the CCJ as its final court of appeal and the matter was ratified in Parliament on July 1.
Dominica is now the fourth country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to sign on to both the appellate and original jurisdiction of the CCJ that was established in 2001.
The CCJ also acts as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that established the Caribbean Community.
This is a very bad move for Dominica! You’ll all see where this is going to end up. Why you all think Skerrit is pushing so hard for it?!
I suspect a lot of people will take the law in their hands because this court will not be a COURT OF JUSTICE, but a court for reginal governments.
May God save us.
so DBS turn Parliament now??? ell announcements are made there by all ministers. Seems like dey fraid.
In time to come we will see the emergence of China influence in our justice system. Our values, rule of law, human rights, and democracy are distinctively different from that of China, however many of our caricom countries are heavily reliant on financial support form the world’s biggest lender to developing countries. So how are we as caricom nations able to uphold our rule of law, human rights and democracy when opposing values are trickle down into our society? And so in order for caricom to maintain good economic and financial standing we dance to the tune of our piper.
Apparently CCJ fosters the Caribbean Islands with the worst crimes in the Caribbean Trinidad, Guyana and Belize. Their leniency in those Islands has fostered a hot bed for criminal activities along the loss of capital punishment and overflowing jail cells full of hardened career criminals. Bring back hanging.
Bad move. Justice for sale to the highest bidder.
more corruption to happen. it will be based on who knows who and who is who. bad move.
The commonwealth we need to leave next.
Hmmn….no justice no peace!