DID YOU KNOW? - NON-DISCRIMINATION

Article 7 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas Establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market & Economy states:

"Within the scope of application of this Treaty and without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimation on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited."

Closing the Circle of Independence - Pollard

Some people have asked what is a good book to read to gain information about the Caribbean Court of Justice and since my book is not yet published, I recommend Justice Duke Pollard's "The Caribbean Court of Justice, Closing the Circle of Independence. It was published in 2004, when he served as Director of CARICOM Legislative Drafting Facility.

It details the development of the court and gives a comprehensive analysis of the courts original and appellate jurisdiction.

It is a must read for all CARICOM practitioners and the public at large, as the region marches towards a single market economy and as we strive to have our own final appellate court within our region.

Constitutional Reform on Jamaican Govt. Agenda

Gov't places constitutional reform back on agenda in election year
B. Henry

Jamaica Observer

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

THE Cabinet, in an unusual development yesterday, voted to table a Green Paper on constitutional reform in the House of Representatives today, effectively placing the issue, over which there are some areas of disagreement, firmly on the pre-election agenda.

Information Minister Donald Buchanan told yesterday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House that the Green Paper will address a number of constitutional issues, dating back to 1991 when the current process originated.

"We have been going through some 15 continuous years of discussions and negotiations and we are satisfied that now is the appropriate time for us to place this Green Paper on the table of Parliament," Buchanan told reporters.

He added that it would, basically, ensure that the process is taken forward in this legislative year.

Among the primary issues to be addressed in this Green Paper are:
. the creation of a republican system, with the Queen replaced as Head of State by a president;
. the complete rewriting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms;
. the substitution of the Caribbean Court of Justice for the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as Jamaica's final court of appeal; and
. procedures with appropriate sanctions for parliamentary oversight of the executive;and changes in the composition of the Senate.

"We would want the Parliament of Jamaica, and by extension the people of Jamaica, to be fully aware of where we are so that, as we enter into a national general election some time within the next five months or so, that those issues will be squarely in front of the people, as well as the fact that, thereafter, the government of the day would have some level of obligation to carry forward this process," Buchanan said.He said that once the elections are over, there should be no retraction or reneging on the process.

Responding to questions about the Charter of Rights and the Caribbean Court of Justice, which have been debated outside the ambit of the current constitutional reform issues, Buchanan said: "We feel that all of these discussions are sufficiently advanced... so that we can incorporate them into this Green Paper as the basis for going forward."

He said that everything in the Green Paper would be debated. The issues in the Green Paper have not been the primary focus in the current election campaign, as discussions have been more centred on the economy, crime and the personalities.

Although a Green Paper is not an official government paper and is only tabled for discussions, its acceptance depends on what tactics the Government will use to get consensus on moving these issues forward, whoever wins the election.

The ruling People's National Party (PNP) and the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have agreed, basically, on the need for a republican system of government, a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the need for procedures with appropriate sanctions for parliamentary oversight to control the power of the executive.

However, while the PNP wants an executive president, the JLP has been insisting on a symbolic head of state. The parties differ even more on the issue of the final court of appeal, with the JLP wanting to retain the Privy Council, at least for the time being.

Buchanan said the question of the composition of the Senate relates to whether independent persons should make up the membership.

But he insisted that in large measure, both sides have agreed in principle to these changes, which will require bipartisan support in Parliament or public approval via a referendum.

"It would be most unfortunate if these agreements, so painstakingly fashioned over the past 15 years, were to be abandoned in the course of the forthcoming election campaign or ignored thereafter," Buchanan said.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Cabinet takes another step towards constitutional reform

RJR, Jamaica

After more than 15 years of deliberations Cabinet has directed Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, Dr. Peter Phillips, ...

Gov't places constitutional reform back on agenda in election year

Jamaica Observer, Jamaica -

THE Cabinet, in an unusual development yesterday, voted to table a Green Paper on constitutional reform in the House of Representatives today, ...

Public debate again on the Queen, constitutional reform

Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica -

Constitutional reform and the burning issues that accompany debate on this matter has once again been placed on the agenda for public debate.

Rastafarians Back CCJ

Rastafarians in Dominica back CCJ as Privy Council replacement

Source: radiojamaica

The Rastafarian movement in Dominica has thrown its support behind the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

The movement says it is urging Caribbean leaders to exercise guts and make the institution their final court of appeal.

Spokesman for the Group, Ras Bernard Shaw, described the failure to participate fully in the CCJ as a form of mental slavery.He said this is hindering the development of Caribbean people. Mr. Shaw added that the Caribbean was sending the wrong message to the international community by not accepting the court. According to him, the non-acceptance of the court by some Caribbean countries was also a shame to African ancestors.

Caribbean countries established the CCJ nearly two years ago as a replacement for the London-based Privy Council. But while most states are members of the court as it relates to its original jurisdiction, only Barbados and Guyana utilize its appellate services.

.......................................................................

AND THE RASTAFARIANS IN JAMAICA SAY???????

Jamaica needs to be fully independent

LETTER OF THE DAY - Jamaica needs to be fully independent

published: Monday May 28, 2007

Source: Jamaica Gleaner

The Editor, Sir:

Having read an article in your daily paper of May 4 on page A7, penned by the Rev. Devon Dick, titled 'Britain still rules Jamaica', I feel compelled to add my little something. The Rev. Devon Dick is a man of great eminence and he speaks from his own mind and heart. I share every sentiment expounded in this article by him. Further, I deem this an excellent one and very timely to us in Jamaica.

What can we tell our children about Independence? After 45 years, we are still crying out in our courts; "OYEZ, OYEZ God save the Queen". While the sentiments of having Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England safe is nice, it should not proceed or pre-empt any opening of any court, tribunal or meeting in independent Jamaica. If anything, these public outcries for her safety should be said on only special days and functions, such as remembrance of her birthday and such events.

I think it has been a great indictment on the part of our leaders, both past and present, also on us as a people, that we have not enunciated with sufficient vehemencethat it is inappropriate that the British Monarchy is still Head of State for our independent Jamaica. Independence was granted from Great Britain in August 1962; people who were alive back then, if still alive, have passed through their youth, and have entered into at least middle age and beyond. So at 45 years (in a matter of months), we are no longer newly independent, but we should be seasoned in our independence.

We should be proud to be Jamaicans and lift up our heads in our independence, taking responsibility for ourselves and country. Come on, let us modify our civil service to fully address our needs. Let's remove our tails from between our legs and hold up our heads and proceed to the Caribbean Court of Justice as our own final court. Let us look at our laws and amend some to reflect the times, throw out some and put in others to reflect the needs of Jamaica. While not suggesting a total change just for change sake, I am proposing that we make adjustments where needed. Some laws that England had when we were a colony, they have since changed for England, but we still hang on to them.

The people of Jamaica need to be fully independent, where we can chart our own destiny. We are looking at another general election and the people need to impress upon our politicians that this is an issue to be addressed. We want to see it in their various manifestos, we want to hear it from the platforms and in any other forum that our politicians adopt. Indeed, we must demand that it be followed through on. I am aware that it is only us that can seek and through mitigation attain real change in our beloved Jamaica. As we are in the majority and as such have the real power, the power to elect and install a government. That government is supposed to work to the benefit of our Jamaica and her people. The time to act is now.

I am, etc.,
A. A. McCREATH
Mandeville, Jamaica

FINALIZE CSME

Bring to finality the creation of the single market, says Dominica minister
Source: Caribbean Net News

ROSEAU, Dominica:

Dominica's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Labour and new Chairman of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), Charles Savarin, has urged his colleague ministers of the imperative "to bring to finality the creation of the Single Market so that we may reap the benefits."

Full story...

DID YOU KNOW? - CARICOM PASSPORT

CARICOM Passport

Source: CARICOM website :

http://www.caricom.org/jsp/single_market/travel.jsp?menu=csme

Heads of Government agreed to the issuance of a CARICOM passport by Member States as a defining symbol of regionalism. The introduction of the CARICOM passport is also part of the measures to promote hassle-free travel for CARICOM nationals. A CARICOM passport is a National passport which is being issued in accordance with an agreed format for intra-regional and extra-regional travel.

On the cover it will have the logo of CARICOM and the words "Caribbean Community". The Coat of Arms and the name of the Member State are also featured on the cover. The CARICOM passport also creates awareness that CARICOM Nationals are Nationals of the Community, as well as a specific country. In 2005, Suriname was the first Member State to have issued the CARICOM Passport, followed by St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica. Antigua and Barbuda, issued the new Passport in 2006.

On 16 January 2007, Saint Lucia became the sixth Member State to have introduced the Passport, followed by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.

All other Member States are expected to introduce the CARICOM Passport by 31 December 2007.

Those States, which have not yet done so, are attempting to deplete their existing stock, before issuing the new CARICOM Passport.

http://www.caricom.org/jsp/single_market/travel.jsp?menu=csme

Britian Still Rules Jamaica

Britain still rules Jamaica

Source: Jamaica Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica

Published May 22, 2007

Devon Dick

Last week, a former Cabinet minister mentioned that the Governor-General of Jamaica, who is the representative of the Queen of the United Kingdom, has to get a visa in order to visit England. This is happening as Jamaica marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British colonies. At least when we were under slavery, the governor, the representative of the British Crown in Jamaica, could travel to England without a visa.

In addition, the British visa is more expensive that a United States visa. Is it because Jamaica to London is further than Jamaica to California? Four years ago, as part of a delegation, courtesy of the U.K. Evangelical Association, I met with the persons responsible for implementing the visa regime at the Home Office. At this cordial meeting, I told them that the system as implemented was a moneymaking exercise. It is a great source of revenue.

The day Jamaicans were required to obtain a visa to travel to the U.K. should have been the day we abolished the monarchy. The day when a Jamaican appellant is initially denied a visa to appear before the Privy Council should be the day we resolve to remove the Privy Council.

That in the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade we are still having the British Queen as Head of State means that, symbolically, Britain still rules Jamaica politically. How does one explain to a child, in a so-called independent Jamaica, that the British Queen is Jamaica's Head of State? How does one tell a child that he or she can never aspire to be the head of state of his or her own country because that position is reserved only for the British?

That the Privy Council is Jamaica's highest court means that judicially Britain still rules Jamaica. In addition, the Privy Council's ruling telling Jamaica the only way it can implement a Caribbean Court of Appeal means that Britain rules us legislatively.

It is therefore sad that in this 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British colonies, there is no movement to rid the country of the vestiges of slavery. This will not come from Britain because the British politicians still have a colonial mentality. Britain still has colonies, such as Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Saint Helena, Falkland Islands (Argentina wants it), Gibraltar (Spain wants it) and Turks and Caicos Islands, etc.

British monarchy

It is sad that in the recent Budget debate, I did not hear one speaker mention the abolition of the British monarchy or the Privy Council. The Most Honourable P.J. Patterson made two timid steps towards self-determination by reintroducing the celebration of Emancipation Day and making our political servants swear to the people of Jamaica instead of to the British Queen.
But compared to what other politicians have requested or done since 1962, he was a bold man and most conscious of all politicians.

It is sad that no church synod or assembly in this significant year, to the best of my knowledge, has called for the replacing of the British monarch.

And only the Anglican Church, three years ago, called upon the nation to establish a Caribbean Court of Appeal.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the execution of Sam Sharpe and it would be a fitting tribute to our National Hero if belatedly we abolish the British Crown as our Head of State and get rid of the Privy Council as our highest court, releasing the tentacles of British rule.

Rev. Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building'.

Links Between Business & CCJ

CCJ has major role in developing indigenous jurisprudence, economic integration
General News - Monday, May 21st 2007
Source: Stabroek News

The Caribbean Court of Justice has an important role to play in the development of an indigenous jurisprudence in the Commonwealth Carib-bean as well as in the success of the regional movement towards economic integration, says President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Michael de la Bastide.

He also quipped that as businessmen and women they might also wish to ponder on the folly of paying for something (as the Court has been paid for by the establishment of the Trust Fund) and then not using it.

The title of the address was "Links between business and the Caribbean Court of Justice".
Explaining linkages between business and the CCJ, he pointed out that it had been recognised within recent years that for a Court to be successful it was essential that techniques and systems be employed in its management which are essentially the same as those in the running of a successful business. Another link of quite a different kind, he noted, is that created by the access which individuals and companies engaged in cross-border business in CARICOM have to the CCJ for obtaining redress when impacted by breaches of the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

CLICK LINK ABOVE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE.

Role of CCJ

Private sector needs to be more aware of CCJ role

General News - Monday, February 26th 2007

Source: STABROEK NEWS

Declaring that it would "be a tragedy of mammoth proportions if the CCJ was not allowed for whatever reasons to realise its full potential", the President of the court says the regional private sector needs to be more aware of the role of the CCJ.

Delivering the main address at the Rotary Club of Georgetown World Under-standing Dinner at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel on Saturday evening, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Michael de la Bastide told his audience that if the CCJ was not allowed to realise its full potential the Caribbean would have "lost an opportunity which may not come again for several generations." To date only Guyana and Barbados have used the court since it was inaugurated on April 16, 2005.

He opined that it was still too early to be concerned over the fact that the CCJ has not yet been called upon to exercise its original jurisdiction (as it relates to the Caricom Single Market) since the experience of most newly established courts is that during the first few years of their existence, business tends to be very slow.

He was concerned that persons with a right of access to the court might not recognise the circumstances in which that right could be used to their advantage. While, he said it was not his purpose to stir up litigation he sensed that a greater awareness was needed by the private sectors of what the CCJ has to offer if it is to play its part in deepening regional integration and contributing to the success of the CSME.

Speaking on the role of the CCJ in the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), Justice de la Bastide said that when one considers the several rights and freedoms which the Caricom Revised Treaty seeks to establish in the creation of a single economic space; the general prohibition in Article 7 of the treaty against discrimination on the ground of nationality alone; and the provisions of the treaty designed to eradicate anti-competitive business conduct within the region, one might well conclude that the breach by a member state of virtually any provisions of the treaty is capable of qualifying as the subject of complaint in proceedings brought by an individual or company. He said he had a "nagging doubt" whether these options were fully appreciated by lawyers within Caricom, not to mention the clients whom they advise.

Referral

He said there were two other sources from which matters could go to the CCJ - by way of the referral of a question of interpretation or application of the Treaty by a national court, and by way of a request for an advisory opinion.

Referral to the CCJ of any question or issue arising in proceedings before the national courts which involve the interpretation or application of the treaty to the CCJ was an important part of the exclusivity of the regional court's jurisdiction. If the resolution of such an issue is necessary for the national court to deliver judgment, then that court "shall… refer the question to the Court, for determination before delivering judgment."

The underlying purpose of this provision, he said, was to ensure that there is uniform interpretation of the treaty throughout Caricom and to eliminate the risk of national courts giving different interpretations of the same provisions of the treaty.

"It is obviously crucial to investor confidence that there should be legal certainty with regard to the rules governing the CSME and this can only be achieved if there is a single, authoritative voice interpreting and applying the Treaty," he said.

Revise

Another feature of the court's jurisdiction is that it was final and there is no appeal of the court's decisions. However, power was given to the CCJ to revise its own judgments if some crucial fact was discovered after judgment was given.

While judgments of the CCJ are binding and enforceable, Justice de la Bastide said that unfortunately, all the necessary steps, including the enactment of legislation to give the CCJ teeth and to ensure that the CCJ judgments are enforced as if they were judgments of a local superior court, have not achieved their objectives.

He said Member States have simply reproduced "Article XXVI in the local act and so incorporate in the domestic law the obligation to pass the necessary legislation, without actually passing it. Hopefully, the parliamentary counsel concerned would recognize and take steps to correct this mistake."

In terms of limitations, he said that an important one was that the dispute must concern the interpretation or application of the treaty. He gave the example of fishing disputes between Member States which have nothing to do with the treaty but depend on the application of the International Law of the Sea. There have been several of these including one between Barbados and Trinidad which was taken to an international tribunal.

On the other hand there are provisions which give companies and individuals, access to the CCJ. He said that normally treaties only confer rights and impose obligations on states which adhere to them and not on companies or individuals. The core jurisdiction of the CCJ, however, is over disputes between Member States or between a Member State and Caricom.

In terms of a request for an advisory opinion from the CCJ, Justice de la Bastide said that "advisory opinions may be requested only by a Member State or by the Community." For Member States in dispute, he said that proceeding by way of a request for an advisory opinion may be an attractive option since it is less expensive and less adversarial than litigation.

Generally speaking, he said, "many people in the region harbour the unspoken fear that the CSME might like the ill-fated West Indies Federation, become another over-ambitious project that skidded off a paved road with good intentions." The CCJ itself could play a pivotal role in preventing this from happening by its judgments to transform the aspirations of the treaty into reality without sending shock waves that might threaten the fragile structure of the CSME.

He gave the example of dealing with inconsistencies between the domestic law and the treaty which would most likely arise.

Though time did not permit him to explore this subject in any depth, he noted that the European Court of Justice has held that the EEC (European Economic Com-mission) Treaty created its own legal order which was directly applicable both to member states and to their nationals, but this the court held, was the result of a partial transfer of sovereignty from the Member States to the Community."

He felt that for Guyana, the problem may have been made less intractable by the Caricom Act, 2006, which gives the Treaty the force of law and contains in Section 8(1) the provision which states that, "In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and the operation of any other law other than the Constitution, the provisions of this Act shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency."

Unfortunately, he said that a similar provision was not to be found in corresponding acts passed in some of the other member states such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Belize.

Conscious of the heavy responsibility which the court has to discharge, Justice de la Bastide said that he was by no means daunted by it and suggested that the people of Caricom share in the confidence and optimism he feels in facing the challenges ahead.

Giving a background to the establishment of the court including the appointment of a commission to appoint the judges and technical staff, its financing, and operationalising, he credited the Heads of Government for the provisions that provide the court with protection against political or any other form of interference.

He said that his confidence and optimism was also based on the past 18 months of working with the six judges who come from a variety of backgrounds bringing expertise and experience in different branches of the law.

On a lighter note, Justice de la Bastide said that personal contact was an important precursor to regional integration and it struck him that the matter of the free movement of people within Caricom, is a matter of seeking to recover lost ground after gaining independence.

Citing a number of examples, he said that he was old enough to remember a time in the pre-independence era when free movement of people in the region was a reality and not a goal.

He gave examples of contributions in the freedom of movement of people such as the composer of T&T national anthem, Pat Castagne, who was born in British Guiana to Guianese parents and taken to T&T as a small child; communication specialist, Kit Nascimento, his senior at St Mary's College in T&T making his mark in swimming there; then young tennis player Ian Mc Donald of T&T, who made his mark blossoming in Guyana as a novelist and poet; and Barbadian-born cricketer Sir Clyde Walcott, who played and coached cricket for Guyana while remaining an icon back in his native country.

Pratt Freed

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Source: Jamaica Observer

Earl Pratt and Mary Lynch were yesterday released from prison, just over an hour apart, in dramatic scenes that again turned national spotlight on both convicted murderers who served a combined 44 years at two of the island's maximum security prisons.....

Pratt was just 18 when he and his friend Ivan Morgan were arrested for the murder of businessman Junior Anthony Missick in 1977. Both men were sentenced to death in 1979.However, in 1994 their sentences were commuted to life by the Privy Council in a landmark ruling that made it illegal for persons on death row for more than five years to be executed.

Morgan eventually died of natural causes in prison.

Complete Story ...

Privy Council 1993 Decision :

_FIRST COPY
View as HTML

Earl Pratt and Ivan Morgan Appellants v. The Attorney General of Jamaica & The Superintendent of Prisions

Death Sentence - Delay - Jamaican Constititution

www.privy-council.org.uk/files/other/PRATTJ~1.rtf -

Caribbean Must Deepen Integration

Caribbean must deepen integration,

says OAS Assistant Secretary General

WASHINGTON, USA:

Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin of the Organization of American States conveyed to a Saint Lucia seminar that, as small and vulnerable economies, Caribbean states have no choice but to deepen their regional integration; it is simply a choice of how quickly and how deeply.

That was the message Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin of the Organization of American States (OAS) conveyed to a Saint Lucia seminar that brought together parliamentarians, including trade ministers, from the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM), made up of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states and the Dominican Republic.

Full story...

LEGISLATIONS TO DATE

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

1. The Caribbean Community Skilled National Act No. 3 of 1997
2. The Caribbean Community Act No . 9 of 2004
3. The Caribbean Court of Justice Act. No. 10 of 2004

BARBADOS

1. The Caribbean Court of Justice CAP. 117
2. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Amendment ) Act No 8. of 2005
3. The Caribbean Community (Movement of Skilled Nationals) CAP. 186 A
4. The Caribbean Community (Amendment) Act No. 10 of 2005
5. The Caribbean Community Act No. 8 of 2003

BELIZE

1. The Caribbean Community (Movement of Factors ) Act No. 15 of 2004
2. The Caribbean Community ( Movement of Factors) ( Amendment) Act No. 22 of 2004
3. Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities ( Caribbean Court of Justice and Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission) Order No. 209 of 2004
4. The Caribbean Court of Justice Trust Fund Act No. 21 of 2004
5. The Caribbean Court of Justice ( Original Jurisdiction) Act No. 16 of 2004
6. The Caribbean Community Act No. 17 of 2004

DOMINICA

1. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Original Jurisdiction) Act No. 23 of 2005

GRENADA

1. The Caribbean Community (Free Entry of Skilled National) Cap 93:02
2. The Caribbean Court of Justice Act 16 of 2004
3. Protocol to the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice Act No. 17 of 2004
4. The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Regional Judicial Legal Services Commission Bill 2004 Act No. 18 of 2004
5. The Caribbean Court of Justice Fund Agreement act No. 19 of 2004
6. The Caribbean Community Act No. 8 of 2006

JAMAICA

1. The Caribbean Community ( Free Movement of Skilled Person) Act 18 of 1997
2. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Original Jurisdiction) Act No. 17 of 2005
3. The Caribbean Community Act 15 of 2004
4. The Caribbean Community Act Including the Caribbean Single Market Economy Act No. 37 of 2004

SURINAME

1. Act containing the approval of the Agreement with regard to the establishing of the Caribbean Court of Justice Act No. 22 of 2003
2. Act containing the approval of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market Economy Act No. 24 of 2003

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

1. The Caribbean Community (Removal of Restrictions ) Act No. 2 of 2005
2. The Caribbean Community Act No. 3 of 2005
3. The Caribbean Court of Justice Act No. 3 of 2005
4. The Caribbean Court of Justice Act No. 8 of 2005
5. Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) (Amendment) Act No. 18 of 2003
6. Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) (Amendment ) Act No. 6 of 2001
7. Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) Act No. 26 of 1996
8. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Amendment to the First Schedule) Order, 2006 Legal Notice 156
9. Act to Provide for the Implementation of the Revised Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice Trust Fund and for related Matters Act No. 19 of 2006

ST KITTS AND NEVIS

1. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Original Jurisdiction) Act No. 7 of 2004

ST LUCIA

1. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Agreement ) Act No. 34 of 2003
2. The Caribbean Court of Justice (Agreement) (Amendment) Act No 5 of 2005
3. The Caribbean Community (Movement of Factors) Act N. 21 of 2006
4. The Caribbean Community Act No 12 of 2004
5. The Caribbean Community Skilled National Act No. 18 of 1996

ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

1. The Caribbean Court of Justice Act No. 32 of 2004
2. The Caribbean Community Movement of Factors Act No. 23 of 2004
3. The Protocol on the Status, Privileges and Immunities of the Caribbean Court of Justice Act No. 48 of 2004
4. Protocol to the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice Act 51 of 2004
5. The Caribbean Court of Justice Trust Fund Act No. 49 of 2004
6. The Caribbean Community Act No. 5 of 2005

It's an Access to Justice Issue!!!!!!!!!

Former teacher gets help to appeal case in UK

Source: Jamaica Gleaner www.jamaica-gleaner.com

published: Thursday October 19, 2006

ATTORNEY GENERAL and Minister of Justice, A.J. Nicholson, has intervened in the case involving Easton Grant, a Jamaican man, who is attempting to represent himself before the London-based Privy Council, but has been refused a visa to enter England.

Mr. Nicholson yesterday wrote to the British High Commissioner Jeremy Creswell, seeking a reversal of the decision.

Mr. Grant, a former teacher at the Montego Bay Community College in St. James, is seeking to have his termination of employment deemed illegal. He has so far been unsuccessful, having exhausted the local courts and has been granted leave by the Court of Appeal to take his case to the London lawlords.

Turned down

His case hearing is set for October 30 and 31, but the English High Commission turned down his visa application saying he had not demonstrated that he will return to Jamaica.

In his letter to Mr. Creswell yesterday, Mr. Nicholson noted that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remains Jamaica's final court of appeal.

"This, I believe, clearly implies that litigants will have access to their final court without impediment, and should not be denied the right to pursue their appeals to the highest level.

To date, Mr. Grant has opted to argue his case without legal representation, as is his right: he should be permitted to continue to do so especially before our highest court," Mr. Nicholson said.

Dwarka Nauth v. Attorney General of Guyana et al

CCJ Application No. AL. 7 of 2006

Date of Hearing : Monday the 7th day of May 2007 at 10 am

Judges: The Rt. Hon. Mr Justice M. de la Bastide, President

The Hon. Mr. Justice R. Nelson JCCJ

The Hon. Mme. Justice D. Bernard JCCJ

Dwarka Nauth

v.

The Attorney General of Guyana

The Public Service Commission

The Regional Executive Officer

The Minister of Finance

Hearing of Application for Special leave to appeal and Special leave to appeal as a poor person.

Attorneys for Applicant : Mr Benjamine E. Gibson, Ms. Mandisa A Breedy, Mr Ruidyard W. Ceres

Attorney at Law for the Respondent : Mr Vashist Maharaj, Ms. Young

HELD: APPLICATIONS DISMISSED

NO ORDERS AS TO COSTS

Ensnaring the CCJ

Ensnaring the CCJ

Source : Trinidad Express Sun, 06 May 2007

FOR the life of the current Manning administration now approaching its constitutional close, Trinidad and Tobago has been embarrassed by a turnaround from one administration to the other, on this perplexing question of the country's accession to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
That the court is established in Port of Spain was as a direct result of the commitment to it, and the campaigning for its siting, conducted by the predecessor administration in government, the United National Congress (UNC).

As Prime Minister Manning reminded the country once again during his fourth consultation on crime in Tobago on Saturday, the UNC changed its mind after it lost office and withdrew its support for the court.

Withholding its support for legislation necessary give effect to the court in its appellate jurisdiction, the UNC has frustrated the intention of this country to access the court as its final appellate body, replacing the Privy Council.

Whereas this is also the case with Caricom partner Jamaica, the difference is that the Opposition has never been as favourable to this move as the UNC had been while in office.

But by tying the desire for the country to move towards a totally indigenous and independent judicial system to the issue of the death penalty, the Prime Minister may have once again complicated matters, giving the erroneous impression that a CCJ will automatically be more sympathetic to the wishes of this or any other Caribbean nation's governments.

Indeed, this is the very ruse by which the UNC has sought to build its about-face on the CCJ, citing its fears about interference and political manipulation. A fanciful, self-interested and hypocritical argument, to say the least.

To be correct, the Privy Council has, by its famous ruling in the Jamaican case of Pratt and Morgan, imposed a five-year limit within which the death penalty must be carried out on anyone so convicted.

Restating a long-held, unwavering element of public opinion, the Prime Minister told his audience in Tobago that capital punishment was an essential element in crime-fighting. For good measure also, he added that he was "a strong supporter" of capital punishment.

By suggesting, however, that a CCJ would, ipso facto, be more favourable to any administration's wishes on enforcement of the death penalty, or on any other issue for that matter, the Prime Minister and the administration for which he speaks, is doing untold damage to the cherished independence of the court.

There is, and never will be, any such guarantee, and any intimations to this effect are just wishful thinking at best, but dangerous, counter-productive and distracting as well.

Constituted as it is at present, the CCJ, led by former Trinidad and Tobago chief justice Michael de la Bastide, comprises some of the best, most robustly independent and thorough-going members of the regional system of jurisprudence.

Unequivocally, every effort must continue to be made to convince those across the region who remain sceptical and untrusting about the need for a full embrace of the CCJ. But those who read into it any misguided notions about advancing their own political or other narrow, immediate agendas must also be warned off such misguided paths.

Cricket Disappointments & Integration

Publication:Jamaica Observer;
Date:Apr 29, 2007;
Section:Agenda;
Page Number:13A

Cricket disappointments will test Caribbean integration

WITH all the recriminations and finger-pointing among Caribbean governments, cricket administrators and the people of the region over the disappointments associated with Cricket World Cup 2007, the regional integration movement will be severely tested in the months ahead.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its subsidiary commercial companies are under fire for genuflecting to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and negotiating a bad agreement; Governments are under pressure for spending too much money without proper risk analysis; and every uncharitable adjective has been used to characterise the team’s failure to compete at the global level.

Each country will now have to maximise the use of the stadiums they have built at enormous sacrifice. With so much over-capacity for hosting international cricket, there will inevitably be serious competition among them for use of these venues as they cannot be supported by traditional cricket arrangements alone. Will this competition spill over into other areas of regional trade and investment? Furthermore, if the leaders cannot quickly find economic use for the facilities they will inevitably face further domestic political criticism. In such a scenario I can easily imagine upcoming meetings of Caribbean leaders with comments around the room as to who was responsible for not negotiating hard enough and for not taking a common position in dealing with the ICC.

The mood today is very different from the ‘feel good’ sentiments after the opening ceremony on March 11 at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium and the first round victories of the West Indies team that promised so much and delivered so little. The early gospel of 100,000 expected visitors and US$500 million in revenue, which was the justification for the US$400-million investment in 12 stadiums and related infrastructure in nine countries, has not been fulfilled and the global TV audiences that would boost tourism and attract investment to the region did not materialise.

Indiatimes.com reported Friday that this ninth staging of cricket’s mega-event was the least-watched Cricket World Cup in history. TV viewership dropped nearly 40 per cent compared to the 2003 edition, according to industry estimates, the report said.

On the plus side, the head of the Barbados Local Organising Committee was telling the BBC on Thursday that their original expectation of $25-million in ticket sales from their second round Super 8 matches and yesterday’s finals at Kensington Oval between Australia and Sri Lanka would be exceeded by a substantial margin.

Also, Ken Gordon, president of the WICB, believes that the Board will make enough out of the event to eliminate its US$15 million or, at least reduce it substantially. He also pointed to the fact the region met the challenge of staging the event with some success, despite the odds. “This is the third largest event in the world. And we have done it when people didn’t think we could. And I think at the end of the day, we should all take some little pride in achieving it,” Gordon told the Trinidad Express.

These pluses notwithstanding, there are serious minuses that cannot be wished away, and that’s why I support the call from Rickey Singh (Sunday Observer, April 22) for an objective and dispassionate enquiry into the hosting of the tournament. Such an inquiry would help the region to build on the positive outcomes, maximise the massive investments in cricket infrastructure while ensuring that the mistakes are not repeated in future endeavours.

We now know that the early elimination of India and Pakistan seriously undermined the financial projections and attendance at matches; this is especially true of India, which is the financial powerhouse of global cricket.

With a population of more than 1.2 billion, a large and affluent diaspora, and a booming economy, India has the fan base at home and abroad to fill stadiums anywhere in the world and they have a huge domestic market of hundreds of millions of consumers anxious to buy the electronics and beverages that sponsors want to push through television advertising.

We also know that ticket prices were set by the LOCs at levels that would bring as much revenue as possible to governments as this was their only guaranteed revenue source to match the huge investments in infrastructure. So the primary focus was not on the affordability for our own people. But despite these obvious explanations, there are important reasons to understand the lessons from the experience if the negatives are not to jeopardise the regional integration process and cricket as the exemplar of that historic process.

Cricket and globalisation

Professor Norman Girvan, writing in the Trinidad Express (April 12) outlined some of the more important lessons from the experience by relating CWC 2007 to the region’s capacity to function in the context of economic globalisation. “CWC 2007 is symptomatic of the way in which we deal with globalisation. We can genuflect before foreign offers; or we can be critical, and bargain purposively and as a single unit to get what is in our own interest. Will the lessons be learnt?”

Girvan’s question should be pondered seriously, not only by cricket administrators but by policy makers at every level throughout the region. His first concern is that our cricket administrators did not negotiate a good Host Venue Agreement (HVA) and so there is no point blaming the ICC. “What we did was to capitulate rather than negotiate. If there was a bad agreement with the ICC, it is we in the Caribbean who must take responsibility for having negotiated it. Cricket is a global business.”

The point is very important in the context of an unequal world in which countries and corporations come to the global negotiating table with unequal skills and resources. We see it at the World Trade Organisation where small nations are pressured to open up their markets to the goods and services from rich and powerful nations, but there is no reciprocity.

We see it in some foreign direct investment deals where governments, desperate to attract an investment from an influential corporation, are sometimes less than prudent in granting concessions or in ensuring that their own environmental and labour standards are not violated.

The region has experienced negotiators going back to the 1960s. We can recall people like Jamaica’s Robert Lightbourne successfully negotiating the sugar agreement to our collective benefit, through to the 1970s when Michael Manley, with technical and strategic advice from people like Girvan, Mayer Matalon and Patrick Rousseau (the point man for WICB in getting CWC 2007), renegotiated the bauxite agreement with US corporations.

So why did we blow it this time? As Girvan posed the question we need to find out whether someone gave the ICC and open-ended agreement from the very beginning so that we had locked ourselves into a corner. Somebody needs to explain. Another lesson from CWC 2007, according to Girvan, is the need to maintain a united regional front. “The argument that too many national jurisdictions were involved in the negotiations won’t wash. The umbrella agreement was negotiated by regional entities and the Heads of Government were party to the arrangements.

Problems that subsequently arose should have been dealt with at the regional level, with the West Indies speaking with one voice. In dealing with powerful international organisations, regional unity is vital, and disunity is fatal.” Rickey Singh underscores the point of regional unanimity. “The leaders may well have gone wrong when they initially failed to adopt a policy of unanimity, as proposed by one prime minister and with at least two others leading the objection that was to result in the individual country biddings, instead of a unanimously agreed initiative to take care of all events, starting from the ceremonial launch of the World Cup, to the final and encompassing the preliminaries, Super Eights and semi-finals.” And this begs the question; if our leaders could not speak with one voice when facing the ICC, what can we expect on other important issues of regional and global politics such as Haiti, Venezuela, China, global warming and terrorism — to name a few? And, can these same leaders ensure that the promised benefits from the Caricom Single Market and Economy actually materialise when, in the end, this means actual diminution of sovereignty, rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding.

Finally, there is the question of cricket and Caribbean identity. The West Indies are the only team in world cricket that do not represent a nation. In the early days of the development of the game in the region, we were all colonies bound by a common future of independence and self-determination. That was motivation enough to beat England at the game they grudgingly taught us.

As separate, independent nations we have to find something that binds not just the team, but all of us as a region and a people with a common history and, hopefully, a common future. Had our cricket administrators and political leaders displayed unanimity and testicular fortitude in negotiating a better deal, the pride that Ken Gordon spoke of would be more evident today, even with modest on-field performance by the team.

EC GRANT TO AID CARICOM INTEGRATION

EC US$48M Grant for Caricom Economic Integration
By Miranda La Rose
Saturday, April 21st 2007

Source - Stabroek News

Caricom/Cariforum Secretary General Edwin Carrington and newly-accredited Head of the EC Delegation to Guyana, Ambassador Geert Heikens shake hands after formalising the Contribution Agreement at the Caricom Secretariat yesterday.

Caricom and the European Commission (EC) yesterday signed a Contribution Agreement for a grant of 36.9 million Euros (US$48 million) to support Caricom economic integration in six areas.

More than half of the amount - 20 million Euros - would go toward implementing the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Another component of the agreement is the support for the external trade negotiations by the CARIFORUM countries, through the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, in particular the negotiations for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States' representation in Geneva on World Trade Organisation matters. Support in this area is pegged at 4.8 million Euros.

The allocation to support the establishment and operation of the Caribbean Institute of Translation and Information (CRITI) to be located in Suriname is 1.7 million Euros; and support for the improvement and harmonized production of economic and statistical data at the regional and national levels in Caricom is 3.3 million Euros.

General institutional support to the Caricom Secretariat is 3.1 million Euros; support for the development of the Caricom Information and Communication Society, 2 million Euros; and support for the reduction of supply and demand for illegal drugs is 1.2 million Euros.

The Contribution Agreement is part of a 40.5 million Euros financing agreement that Edwin Carrington, Caricom Secre-tary General also acting on behalf of CARIFORUM signed with the European Union Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid in Brussels, Belgium in January this year.

The funds come from the Ninth European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme.

At yesterday's signing ceremony held at the Caricom Secretariat, Turkeyen, Carrington, signed on behalf of Cariforum while newly-accredited Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Guyana, Geert Heikens signed on behalf of the EC.

In brief remarks Heikens noted that the agreement, which gives Caricom greater ownership and more direct management of the funds, makes the EC one of the largest, "if not the largest" donor to Caricom.

Noting that the principal objective of the programme was to advance regional integration and some 20 million Euros was going towards the establishment and consolidation of the CSME, he said the EU's experience has shown the great benefits that could be enjoyed from being a regional body of countries working for common objectives.

He appreciated the move to establish the Information and Translation Institute to deal with the needs of the region which has four different official languages, noting that the EU has the challenge of coping with 21 official languages.

One major opportunity for greater integration, he noted, would be to bring Haiti further into the Caricom fold and the Dominican Republic closer. He said the EC welcomed the inclusion of the Dominican Republic staff in the Caricom Secretariat.

Noting the support going towards EPA negotiations he said he would "strongly encourage the region (to conclude the agreement) because it is a useful and necessary development instrument which will support you in building up intra- and extra-regional markets; it represents the best way of replacing existing trade preferences that are coming to an end under WTO rules; and the commission mindful of the needs of the region, is prepared to be flexible in allowing implementation at a staggered pace with possibly some exceptions for sensitive products."

In addition, he said that the EU has just made "the generous offer to allow duty free access of all ACP goods into the EU, with a transitional period for rice and sugar."

Your Vote

The issue of the Caribbean Court of Justice is a real one. The reality is that as Jamaicans we need to take a serious look at the pros and cons of having the CCJ as our final appellate court in place of the UK Privy Council. We need to make informed decisions. Not decisions based on emotions, hearsay and speculatons. Rather, we need to think analytically about the issue and let our voices be heard both locally and internationally.

Why not have your say, here on this issue.

Do you think that the CCJ should be the final Court of appeal for Jamaica?

Place your vote to the right and click General CCJ Comments to share your views.

Thanks for sharing and joining the discussion.

Kindest Regards,

DSP

Top-down Caribbean Integration - Daley

Regional leaders just don't get it. When they get together for their periodic summits to discuss their fancy reports and studies, they seem to think the rest of the Caribbean has a deep, abiding care. Most people don't.

The reason there is no huge interest in this whole business of regional integration has to do with the fact that ordinary people are still being left out of the discussions.

Those who have observed and studied the integration project since the time of the failed West Indian Federation in the 1950s have repeatedly pointed to the problem of leaders seeking to integrate from the top down. It didn't work in the past and there is hardly any reason for thinking it's going to work now.

Recommendations

On that matter of Federation, a report of a working group on ways to strengthen regional governance is one of the latest issues to occupy the minds of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders. Its recommendation for the creation of a supranational body is far-reaching and, in many ways, paints the outlines of a federal structure.

The so-called CARICOM Commission, modelled on the successful European Commission, is aimed at clearing the way for swifter decision making within the regional com-munity, especially in the context of an emerging single market and economy. The idea has been floating about for years now but it looks like steps are being taken to move it to implementation.

According to the recent report of the working group, the "Commission, in the exercise of its functions, should have authority to intervene within individual national systems and at the level of regional entities on behalf of the collective political directorate in the elaboration and execution of agreed decisions."

That mandate is sure to scare some people who still have fears that attempts are being made to federate through the back door.

Leaders have endorsed the report of the working group, which was headed by Dr. Vaughan Lewis, former Prime Minister of St. Lucia and a respected academic in his own right. That was in February. Since then, there has been little discussion about the whole thing. Granted, Cricket World Cup has taken the spotlight, but I'm not convinced enough is being done by the leaders through their technocrats and communications specialists to have the idea of the commission ventilated and explained.

Political opportunism

Without this genuine discussion, there will be ample room for political opportunism when crunch time comes around for political parties. The proposed Commission represents a delicate initiative which has to be handled with care, especially since it involves surrendering some aspects of national sovereignty.

It's not too complicated for ordinary people to understand if they are provided with sufficient and appropriate information as to how it would work and the benefits to be derived. After that, they can decide whether they want to gamble on it or not.

What we have had, too often, over the years are regional leaders making decisions about people's lives without having the benefit of widespread public consultation and feedback. It's the usual top-down attitude that hasn't worked.

There is a chance with this proposed Commission to change that approach by involving everyone - from the man on the street corner to the Opposition parties - in the discussions. I can think of a few regional institutions that might have benefited from that more enlightened way of doing business.

VERNON DALEY

Source - Jamaica Gleaner