CCJ to hold sittings in Jamaica and Barbados for Shanique Myrie case

CCJ to hold sittings in Jamaica and Barbados for Shanique Myrie case
Source: Caribbean 360

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Tuesday March 5, 2013 – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will hold its first ever sitting in Jamaica next week to hear evidence from witnesses in the case in which a Jamaican national has sued Barbados.

Shanique Myrie, 25, who was granted leave by the CCJ to file the action, alleges that when she travelled to Barbados on March 14, 2011 she was discriminated against because of her nationality, subjected to a body cavity search, detained overnight in a cell and deported to Jamaica the following day.

Myrie also claimed that she was subjected to derogatory remarks by a Barbadian Immigration officer at the Grantley Adams International Airport and is asking the CCJ to determine the minimum standard of treatment applicable to CARICOM citizens moving around the region.

On September 27 last year, Jamaica was granted leave to intervene in the matter.

Myrie, through her attorneys, informed the CCJ that she could not afford to bring her witnesses to Port- of-Spain for the hearing and therefore she was unable to adequately present her case to the Court.

The CCJ said that it had explored the use of videoconferencing technology to take the evidence of the witnesses, but after consulting with attorneys it was decided that the evidence should be given in person and for this purpose the Court will sit in Jamaica to hear the evidence of the witnesses for the Claimant and the Intervener.

The CCJ will sit at the Jamaica Conference Centre from Monday until Friday and will hear testimony from 10 witnesses. It said it is paying for the costs of the sitting which include airfare, accommodation and its other expense while the Jamaica government will provide security for the Court.

The CCJ said it would also sit in Barbados from March 18 to 22 to hear the evidence of the witnesses of the Defendant.

The CCJ was established in 2011 to replace to London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court of appeal. It has both an original and appellate jurisdiction and also serves as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy that allows for free movement of within the grouping.(CMC)

Jamaican Gay Man Takes Belize, Trinidad to Court Over Discriminatory Immigration Laws

Jamaican Gay Man Takes Belize, Trinidad to Court Over  Discriminatory Immigratiion Laws

Wed, July 17, 2013 Source: Channel 7 Daily News Published : July 17, 2013

The country is waiting patiently for Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin to rule  on the UNIBAM challenge to Belize’s Sodomy Laws. Well, before that  decision is handed down, another of Belize's sexually discriminatory laws  is being challenged at the highest court in the land, the Caribbean Court  of Justice. Viewers may remember, Maurice Tomlinson, the Jamaican Gay Activist who  turned down UNIBAM’s invitation to conduct sensitization sessions.  He did that because he discovered that under Section 5 of Belize’s  Immigration Act, he would be breaking the laws to enter the country  to conduct this workshop. This section states that prohibited immigrants include, quote  "Any prostitute or homosexual who may have been living  off or receiving proceeds of prostitution or homosexual behavior," end quote. Tomlinson, who is married to a Canadian man, says that this law violates  his right to freedom of movement within the Caribbean Community. Trinidad and Tobago is the only other member of CARICOM which  shares immigration laws similar to this one, and as a result, he has taken a  challenge to the CCJ – in Trinidad - forcing both countries to respond. Tomlinson has been to Belize twice, and in both visits, Belizean authorities  did not enforce this law against him, so his home nation, Jamaica, has  decided to stay out of this issue because his rights have not actually been  violated. His matter was called up today and via teleconference and Government  Representatives from both countries presented themselves for case  management. Because Jamaica has refused to intervene as a state, Tomlinson’s attorney  notified the CCJ judges’ panel that they were making an application for  special leave to be heard as an individual. That’s important because this is what’s known as an original jurisdiction matter,  and only states can usually be granted such access to the court. Nontheless, there are exceptions and the court has scheduled this application  hearing for November 12. If Tomlinson can provide a strong case, the court  will grant him leave to bring his challenge to both countries’ immigration laws. Deputy Solicitor General Nigel Hawke is the lead attorney representing the  Government of Belize, along with other Crown Counsels from the office of the  Solicitor General. We’ll keep following this story as it develops.