Plans for CCJ remain on schedule

CARICOM is moving to set up the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on schedule, despite the blow delivered by the UK Privy Council on Thursday, when it ruled that the Jamaican Government violated the country’s constitution through the method it used to adopt the court as its final appellate body.  “There is as yet no indication that the Privy Council’s ruling  on Jamaica’s legislation introducing the CCJ would delay the establishment of the court by Caricom governments,” Caricom Secretary-General Edwin Carrington said.

The ruling is expected to top the agenda for the upcoming meeting of Caricom’s Legal Affairs Committee in Paramaribo, Suriname this week. On an appeal by the Jamaican Council for Human Rights and others, the Privy Council ruled that the CCJ, as the replacement for the Privy Council, could not be legally incorporated into the judicial system of Jamaica except by way of entrenchment in the constitution of Jamaica. The court found that the legislation establishing the CCJ did not entrench the CCJ and therefore could undermine certain  provisions in the Jamaican constitution that are accorded special protection.

Caricom, however, added that the ruling did not differentiate between the exercise by the CCJ of its original jurisdiction in relation to the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community, including the single market and of its appellate  jurisdiction as the ultimate court of appeal for Jamaica. It observed that this could be because the Jamaica legislation was an integrated one dealing with both the original and  appellate jurisdiction.
“Because of this, it is not clear at this early stage what is the implication of the ruling for the timely establishment of the CCJ in relation to the exercise of its original jurisdiction to ensure the efficient functioning of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).” Caricom said the decision is being examined by the Office of the General Counsel of the Caricom Secretariat in conjunction with the Legal Affairs Committee which would discuss the matter in order to advise the community on an appropriate response.