OPINION: Caribbean Court Of Justice Static Development

Caribbean Court Of Justice Static Development

OPINION BY FRUSTRATED LITIGANT

As the region develops within the policies and formula of global economies, we advanced to consider terms like ‘economies of scale’, where size designated terms, thereby recognizing that the economic growth of small states could not use the same parameters as the larger countries.

Our attempt at a Court of Justice for the region has gotten stalled in its developmental plan for the independent Caribbean territories still connected to the UK Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), and may require a parallel perspective similar, establishing a consciousness of size, and layout of the various jurisdictions.

This is clearly necessary, especially when we consider our ancient British laws (reformed or now rubbished by UK), and the Court procedure and systems which work for an ancient country like Britain, full of their traditions, untranslatable idioms, and British theatre, we are fortunate that we became enlightened enough to shed the wigs not so long ago.

The black robes in Caribbean heat, – some places without air-conditioned halls induce discomfort and heat rash in strange places which judges in particular can attest to.

Further, the ties that bind the Executive to the Judiciary are their Expenditure, which in return produces Delay, both being quite acceptable to the political powers that control the islands.

The level of Judicial Oversight has been lowered to fit the emoluments, thereby often placing judges on the Bench who as lawyers have never faced the Bench, and so whose exposure is limited.

The old colonial system of using semi-retired lawyers of good standing, whose love of the law and their community would offer their services, accepted the dribble emoluments in their efforts to raise the standards of justice in the Caribbean.

The CCJ needs to get cracking on a culture of Justice which fits in with the Caribbean way of life and its makeup of its peoples and culture.

We are the outside child of the Commonwealth in that most of the old British colonial world, where other nations and cultures have measures which assist in the acceptance that real justice is being administered.

The white countries like Canada, New Zealand and Australia plus, have their own British based inhabitants who understand and appreciate their own systems, which give confidence and respect to judicial pronouncements.

Africa and India have their respected customs and indigenous and traditional Courts, which offer fall back positions for speedy processing for the poor, old, and marginalized of their people.

Time for the Caribbean to cease this backward movement in solidifying the British system of justice which works for Brits with their Westminster system of government, and all of its established agencies of support, which are absent in our region.

Once we have cut links with the Privy Council, and have managed to integrate the region from a Caricom talk shop, into implementing reformed laws, and cut the connect between the Executive and the Judiciary, the CCJ can then commence in developing a culture of Caribbean Justice in which our people can grow confidence.

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