CCJ legislation for Parliment next week

ATTORNEY GENERAL Glenda Morean-Phillip disclosed yesterday that legislation to enact the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) into the laws of Trinidad and Tobago will be laid in Parliament on September 5.

Morean-Phillip is hopeful that Government will get the support of the Opposition UNC to pass the legislation which will require a special majority if this court is to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Government needs a simple majority to pass legislation to allow the CCJ to function in its original jurisdiction. A special majority is needed for TT to subscribe to the CCJ in its appellate jurisdiction. The Attorney General spoke to reporters following another round of consultation on the CCJ which was held at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom yesterday. The guest speaker was Mia Mottley, Attorney General and Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados. When asked how she intends to whip up Opposition support for the legislation, Morean-Phillip said she was hopeful that there will be consensus at the end of the day. She said Members of Parliament were invited to the consultation, but only Independent Senators turned up. “I am hoping there will be some consultation between the Government and the Opposition. There is always room for compromise. The Opposition wants certain constitutional reforms if they are to agree to support this Bill. It may be quite possible for us to arrive at some medium position,” she added.

Morean-Phillip said the UNC has asked Government for its plans for constitutional reform. “They wanted to know how we are going to engage this process. We have done that to some extent. It is only with dialogue we will know how far we can go.” The AG said the CCJ Bill is one of several pieces of legislation which will be going to Parliament next week with some urgency. She also revealed that the Firearms Bill and the Terrorism Bill need to be passed urgently if Government is to tackle the crime problem. Mia Mottley, the Barbados AG, is the chairperson of the CCJ Preparatory Committee. She revealed that the committee will be meeting with the UNC in an attempt to convince the Opposition party to support the legislation for the CCJ. Mottley said this will be important especially as it was UNC political leader Basdeo Panday, who as Prime Minister, signed the agreement on February 14, 2001, for the establishment of the court. She said the committee will be embarking on a strong public education programme from September. Mottley said when the decision was taken in 1988 in Antigua to establish the CCJ, the current crop of leaders were not in power. She said neither Panday nor Patrick Manning was the leader in Trinidad and Tobago — it was ANR Robinson.