Government considers CCJ as final appellate body

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 – The Government of Saint Lucia is currently giving serious consideration to instituting the Caribbean Court of Justice -CCJ, as the island's final court of appeal for civil and criminal matters.

Speaking to the Government Information Service, Minister for Justice and Attorney General Senator the Honourable Nicholas Frederick said Barbados and Guyana are the only states which have thus far accepted the CCJ as their final appellate body.

“We have been considering it, and the feasibility of this will be discussed at Cabinet. I am sure before long we will be able to make a statement. Consideration must be given to the process given that constitutional changes will be required since the Privy Council currently has the right to take decisions in criminal and civil matters.”

Meantime on Wednesday, 31^st of March, special lecture presentations were hosted by the UWI Open Campus on the topics “Inscribing Caribbean Nationhood: The Role of the CCJ” and “De-linking from the Privy Council and Joining the CCJ: The Mechanics of Emancipating the St. Lucia Judiciary.” The presentations were made by Professor Simeon Macintosh former Dean of the Faculty of Law and Professor of Jurisprudence.

Professor Macintosh surmised that ongoing constitutional reform in states such as St. Lucia, go hand in hand with the mission of the CCJ in fostering a Caribbean Jurisprudence.

“In a democratic society the sovereign people in the making of the constitution, frame their own political identity. For us in the Commonwealth Caribbean, particularly in the eastern Caribbean, our constitution was largely written for us by a British home office functionary and legislated by the British imperial politics,” Macintosh said.

The Caribbean Law Institute Centre (CLIC) has conceptualized and coordinated a series of CARICOM country visits to promote acceptance of the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

April 16, 2010 will mark the fifth anniversary of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

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