CCJ in the spotlight, negatively

THIS WEEK, the Caribbean Court of Justice has been placed under the spotlight for reasons which we consider most unfortunate.

The issues gaining attention in the public space we would not chronicle here, but are so serious that they have prompted a release from the heads of judiciary of states which subscribe to the original, and or appellate jurisdictions of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

This release has expressed among other things, “grave concern” about what they call the breach of confidentiality which resulted from the disclosure of internal communications at the CCJ.

One concern is that, at a time when the CCJ has been growing steadily in the confidence and acceptance by Caribbean people as an alternative to the British Privy Council, any bad press would be used to justify, in the eyes of CCJ sceptics, why we should stick with the colonial court.

The CCJ was formally established on February 14, 2001 and then officially inaugurated on April 2005. It is therefore quite a young court. One great irony is that, while the CCJ is headquartered in Port of Spain, that two-island nation has not yet accepted it as its final court of appeal. That is the case for several states; a sad case of not welcoming your newborn totally into your family.

Notwithstanding that situation it is, however, the court of original jurisdiction vested with the power to adjudicate on matters involving the Revised Treaty of Chaguramas. In fact, we recently saw the CARICOM Heads of Government deciding to allow that court to adjudicate over the impasse which had arisen over the renewal of tenure of Dr Carla Barnett the Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to which Trinidad and Tobago has posed objections. This demonstrates the importance of this indigenous court for our developing region.

It is reassuring that the heads of judiciary have attempted to restore confidence in the CCJ, and that in a big way is an attempt at damage control.

The issues of prime concern which must be addressed within the administration of the court speak to allegations of leakage of information which can certainly undermine confidence in the court. Any organization would have disagreements within its administration. What one does not expect however, is that the internal processes are made public, and in such a manner as to undermine confidence in the professionalism of the persons called upon to adjudicate justice at the highest levels for so many in our region.

One must also question the motives of those who “leaked” information from within this body. This is the first time, as far as we are aware, that such a crisis has developed. The CCJ must therefore ensure that a similar situation is never repeated.

It has come to light that already from Jamaica, there are jurists in that jurisdiction questioning the very functioning of the CCJ.

We do expect that in getting to the bottom of this affair, an investigation would be launched with the aim of addressing which processes may have failed or been violated and need to be addressed.

We, therefore, reiterate our support for the first step taken by the group of CARICOM members to issue its public support for our region’s highest court. What is at stake is too important for the forward development of jurisprudence in the continued development of CARICOM. This cannot signal calls for further hanging on to the coattails of our former colonial masters.

The issuance of this pledge of support is therefore most timely and should serve to alleviate the fears of the citizens of the region that the CCJ is not on a new downward course. We look forward to the continued progression that will result in full support for the CCJ as the final court both in its original and appellate jurisdictions for CARICOM Member States eventually replacing the British Privy Council as our final court of appeal.

The CCJ must therefore ensure that it justly addresses internal matters that may arise, and that the professionalism which has so far been a hallmark of that judicial body, is maintained.