Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

To be or not to be? – that is the question concerning the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).  The recent announcement by the Prime Minister that the committee established to review whether the CCJ should be the final court of appeal has recommended that Jamaica should consider setting up their own final court has taken most observers by surprise.  I think that most people took it as a given that we would join but why is it important?

In order for a country to foster economic growth, it must possess a justice system that will be able to defend the rights of consumers, businesses and victims of crime.  A sound efficient system of justice allows a government to enforce its rules and regulations and to ensure that there is law and order in the country.  No one will want to invest in a country where their property and rights are not protected.

The committee will have us believe that serious consideration was given to this matter and that one of the concerns was the lack of assurance that the other islands would join the CCJ.  However, if Jamaica takes the leap and joins then I believe that the other islands will follow suit.  The committee did not comment on the fact that Jamaica has already contributed significant funds to the CCJ and that if all countries contribute to the trust fund that was established then the court will be self sufficient and not dependent on future contributions.  If we go it alone then all that has been contributed would be lost.

The recommendation of the committee seems all the more strange given the state of the justice system that exists in this country.  The system is under funded, under resourced and has an enormous backlog of cases.  Where is the money to come from to finance the new court and given our current fiscal situation how can we be certain that those funds will materialise?  In addition, how would the government be able to convince the populace that the court would be free of interference in order for people to place confidence in it?  This is especially true given the level of corruption that exists in this country.  We already had a taste of how the government can abuse the justice system when we experienced the Gun Court in the seventies.

Finally, to start from scratch at this point would mean that it would be several years before the court would be ready to hear cases.  I must ask the question whether we would even be able to supply that court with sufficient cases given our small size. It seems to me that a regional court would be more effective and cost efficient for all countries.

In addition, the current setup concerning the appointment of judges removes them from the sphere of influence of politicians and ultimately that is what will be best to promote economic growth in the region.

Tags: Carl Wilson