Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has renewed calls for CARICOM member states to fully support the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) by adopting it as their final appellate court.
Speaking on his weekly Issues in the News programme, Nandlall said it remains “a travesty” that most independent Caribbean countries still rely on the United Kingdom’s Privy Council, decades after gaining independence.
“We often speak passionately about regional integration, sovereignty, and unity, yet we continue to cling to an institution of colonial creation,” the Attorney General said. “It flies in the face of Caribbean integration and regional unity.”
Currently, only Guyana, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St. Lucia have signed on to the CCJ in its appellate jurisdiction, while all other CARICOM states only recognize it in its original jurisdiction, which deals with matters arising from the Treaty of Chaguramas.
Nandlall stressed that the CCJ represents one of the region’s most important institutions and should be treated as such. “There is hardly another institution of greater significance than the CCJ,” he said, urging that “more effort must be exerted” to persuade other governments to join.
He further noted that the court’s judgments have been of high quality, capable of “holding their own against any courts of similar jurisdiction,” including international tribunals.
Citing his own experiences appearing before the CCJ, Nandlall said the court’s professionalism and jurisprudence have strengthened the region’s legal systems. “Imagine what would have happened in this country if we did not have the Caribbean Court of Justice,” he stated.
The Attorney General added that Guyana will continue to advocate for the CCJ’s survival and expansion across CARICOM, noting that regional leaders have a duty to support and strengthen the court.
