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Letter of the Day | Why states have not acceded their final courts of appeal to CCJ

Published:Thursday | August 18, 2022 | 12:09 AM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I’m writing this letter with reference to the commentary, ‘Emancipate your thinking, Minister Chuck’, which was published in The Gleaner on August 14.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is evolving and is still developing. Therefore, it is not the ideal court for our people to use it to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London at this time.

The CCJ serves as the final court of appeal for CARICOM members and also handles trade disputes. The CCJ was established in 2001, but became operational in 2005 after having its first case. After over 17 years of operation, only four member states of the 15-member CARICOM have acceded their final courts of appeal to the CCJ as the final court of appeal: Barbados and Guyana in 2005, Belize in June 2010, and Dominica in 2015.

This means 11 member states have not acceded their courts of appeal to the CCJ. Our people need to know why 11 states have not acceded their final courts of appeal to the CCJ.

So, I invite them to read the report, ‘The end the Caribbean Court of Justice. On failed constitutional referendums in Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda’ by Derek O’Brien on the website, constitutionnet.org.

I’m appealing to every Jamaican to read this report, because you will be glad you did.

CARGILL KELLY