CCJ at 20

After 20 years, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is being touted as essential in guarding democracy and shaping a unique identity for the region – even though some, despite many monumental CCJ rulings and the academic probity of the institution, still treat the judicial body as merely an “idea”.

This was the overarching theme of this year’s Norman Manley Distinguished Lecture, as the Council of Legal Education at the Norman Manley Law School commemorated the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of the CCJ, located in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

It was also the central point of the main discourse delivered by distinguished lecturer Professor Tracy Robinson – professor of law at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona – under the theme ‘The Caribbean Court of Justice: A Guardian of Democracy and Justice in the Region’.

Case after case, Robinson demonstrated in her presentation the importance of the CCJ in matters of governance, public order, and in upholding values that may not be fully appreciated in the local context under the Westminster Privy Council system. This role, she emphasised, is especially critical when it comes to constitutional reform in regional states.

“There is no question that we have been talking for decades about Westminster (system) and, in fact, some people call it ‘Westmonster’. I think there is an acknowledgement that it could be strengthened, and the sense I have is that many of the reformers around the Caribbean, including Barbados, want a fairly similar system to what they have,” explained Robinson, responding to questions on her presentation.

“But, that said, I also think questions arise as to what our current constitutions mean. Because they aren’t entirely explained by what happens elsewhere ... and even if we did follow elsewhere, that does not tell us what the values that are embedded in those principles should be.”

The professor continued, “What are the values? Westminster can’t help you. The value is that there must be some even-handedness in the partisan political system so we don’t have one set of folks sitting on one side of Parliament being paid and can pay their rent and children’s school fees; and the others who are part of the Opposition are in totally different positions. Somehow, you have to ask what are the norms, what are the values?”

Citing several political matters in the region in recent years, Robinson said that, in her opinion, the CCJ has, in the last 15 years, been trying to figure out, “through a matter of constitutional construction, what are those values?”

AN AUTHENTIC VEHICLE

Robinson’s lecture was met with gratitude from Justice Adrian Saunders, president of the CCJ, who also explained that the establishment of the CCJ is the most far-reaching and consequential decisions ever made by the political directorate of the Caribbean Community.

Unlike other colloquial entities over the years which were always destined to fail, the CCJ, Saunders said, was conceived and constructed by “us with input from the Caribbean people and, in particular, the Jamaican Bar Association. He noted that the CCJ is an authentic vehicle designed to drive democracy and the rule of law in the Caribbean.

Saunders expressed thanks to the governments and people of the Caribbean Community who supported the court’s establishment. Special thanks, he said, go to the states of Barbados, Guyana, Belize, St Lucia, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, “for fulfilling their treaty promises and for entrusting to the court the solemn responsibility of deciding their final appeals”.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com