The question has been asked sometimes why do we need a Caribbean Court of Justice. The short and simple response is that without it the CARICOM Single Market and Economy will certainly not function effectively. For it is inevitable that in the cut and thrust of the commercial and economic life involving trade in goods, in services, trans-community investment and movement of skilled labour as well as the dynamics of social life within that market, there will be disputes.
Institutions within the Community
Public support across the region for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had risen from 68% in 2000 to 80% in 2002 reported Mr. Sheldon Mc Donald, CCJ Project Coordinator in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. He said that all member states of CARICOM are united in their support for the establishment of the regional Court.
Consultations on the establishment of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), and arrangements for the inauguration of the Court, which is scheduled for the latter half of 2003, is expected to commence soon. This was a mandate coming out of the Fourteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which concluded in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend.
The work towards the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will move into a heightened state in 2003 with a series of activities. The first of these is a joint meeting of national co-ordinators for the establishment of the CCJ in Guyana on 12 January 2003.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] have signed an agreement which will provide US$300 000 to support the work towards the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The funds will come from the Government of Japan through its Human Resource Development Fund (JHRDF) channeled to the Community which is administered by the UNDP. Signing the Agreement were CARICOM's Deputy-Secretary-General, Dr Carla Barnett, UNDP's Deputy Resident Representative in Guyana, Mr.
Member States of the Caribbean Community that have not yet ratified the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ ) were urged to do so with alacrity.
The call came from Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and CARICOM Head of Government with lead responsibility for Governance Dr. Kenny Anthony as he welcomed other CARICOM Heads of Government to Saint Lucia for a one-day summit examining the state of the economies of the countries of the Region.
Just weeks after Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) agreed on a formula for the funding of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), a group of workers from the state sector will gather in Trinidad and Tobago for the final in a series of education workshops for state sector employers who will interface with the Court.
As the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) intensify efforts towards the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), several of the professionals in the Regional State Sector who will interface directly with the Court will be focusing their minds on the issues relating to the Court during the first half of June.
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community Mr Edwin Carrington, has wrapped up a one-week tour of Jamaica where he spoke to wide ranging audiences on a range of issues related to the Caribbean Court of Justice. The week of public education activities on the Court ran from 24-30 April 2001.
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Mr Edwin Carrington, has re-emphasised that establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is imperative to the creation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The Secretary-General, who is in Jamaica for a week long series of public education programmes, 24-30 April 2001 to build public awareness of the CCJ, stressed that dialogue with the people of the Region, including the stakeholders, is a fundamental step leading to the establishment of the Court.