De la Bastide sworn in as CCJ president

Attorney Michael de la Bastide SC was yesterday sworn in as the first president of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) by Trinidad and Tobago’s president, Dr George Maxwell Richards. The swearing in ceremony took place at President’s House and was witnessed by a number of dignitaries, including the Prime Minister of Grenada and Chairman of Caricom,  Dr Keith Mitchell, acting Prime Minister of TT,  Joan Yuille-Williams, Caricom secretary general Edwin Carrington, Attorney General John Jeremie and acting Chief Justice of TT Justice Roger Hamel-Smith. Also present were commissioners of the Regional Judiciary and Legal Service Commission (RJLSC) Sir David Simmons (chairman), Aubrey Bishop, Kenneth Lalla, Gloria Gray and Nelcia Robinson.

The RJLSC is scheduled to meet today and shortlist some 32 applications by Commonwealth  jurists applying to sit as judges on the CCJ. However, before November 6, when the CCJ is expected to be inaugurated in this country, only five will be selected. Ironically, TT has not yet passed legislation to replace the Privy Council with the CCJ as our final court of appeal. Justice de la Bastide took the oath at about 2.10 pm and, in one minute, the official part of the ceremony was over. Speaking to the media afterwards, the new CCJ president said it was a very important moment for him. He said he was anxiously looking forward to the establishment of the CCJ, and to be named its first president is really like a dream come true. De la Bastide, a former Chief Justice of TT, said while he felt honoured, there was also a lot of responsibility on him, as this is the first and crucial phase of the existence of the court.

First of all, the court has to move quickly to become operational and, at the beginning, it must perform its work in a way which will inspire confidence among the people of the region. Responding to a question about those who think the CCJ will not be able to replace the Privy Council as the final court of appeal, he said the court would prove those doubts to be unfounded because he believed the CCJ has the ability to do the job competently. Replying to a question concerning whether there is a conflict of interest following  his recent appointment as a judge of the Privy Council, and now president of the CCJ, de la Bastide explained, “Some people seem to think that there is some sort of inconsistency in it. The Privy Council is not an English court, and it does not hear appeals from English courts.

Its staff however, are almost all English judges. They don’t find it inconsistent, why should we.” He said it would be impractical for him to sit on the Privy Council with any frequency, in any event, since it would be difficult to make arrangements for judges like himself living some 4,000 miles away to sit regularly. He said he accepted the appointment as recognition by the people responsible for making those appointments that among us, myself and two others, there are people fit to be counted among the members of the Privy Council. “I think it’s something we all ought to be proud of.” He finally admitted that his appointment as president of the CCJ was more important to him than being a Privy Councillor.