I - INTRODUCTION

Q. What is the Caribbean Court of Justice?

A.The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is the Caribbean regional judicial tribunal established on 14 February 2001 by the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice.  The agreement was signed on that date by the CARICOM states of: Antigua & Barbuda; Barbados; Belize; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Kitts & Nevis; St. Lucia; Suriname; and Trinidad & Tobago. Two further states, Dominica and St. Vincent & The Grenadines, signed the agreement on 15 February 2003, bringing the total number of signatories to 12.  The Bahamas and Haiti, though full members of CARICOM, are not yet signatories, and because of its status as a British colony, Montserrat must await Instruments of Entrustment from the UK in order to ratify. The Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice came into force on 23 July 2003, and the CCJ was inaugurated on 16 April 2005 in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, the Seat of the Court

Q. Is the CCJ a new idea?

A. No.  It had a long gestation period beginning in 1970, when the Jamaican delegation at the Sixth Heads of Government Conference, which convened in Jamaica, proposed the establishment of a Caribbean Court of Appeal in substitution for the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Q. How is the Caribbean Court of Justice different from the Caribbean Court of Appeal proposed by Jamaica at the Sixth Heads of Government Conference?

A. The Caribbean Court of Justice is more than a court of last resort for Member States of the Caribbean Community.  In addition to replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the CCJ is vested with an original jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation and application of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established the Caribbean Community.  In effect, the CCJ exercises both an appellate and an original jurisdiction.

Q. How is the appellate jurisdiction different from the original jurisdiction?

A. In its appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ hears and determines appeals in both civil and criminal matters from common law courts within the jurisdictions of Member States of the Community and which are parties to the Agreement Establishing the CCJ. 
In its appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ is the highest municipal court in the region for states which accede to its appellate jurisdiction.  In its original jurisdiction, the CCJ discharges the functions of an international tribunal, applying rules of international law in respect of the interpretation and application of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.  In this regard, the CCJ functions like the European Court of Justice, the European Court of First Instance, the Andean Court of Justice of COMESA and the International Court of Justice.  In short, the CCJ is a hybrid institution – a municipal court of last resort and an international court with compulsory and exclusive jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation and application of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.

Q. Is there general agreement on the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice?

A. At the present time, there is still some lingering opposition to the CCJ. Surveys in some Member States, however, have showed as many as 80% of the persons surveyed supported the Court.  In some jurisdictions, while there is little opposition to the Court in its original jurisdiction, there is more opposition to it in its appellate jurisdiction. 
Opposition to the CCJ was informed by various considerations, such as suspicion of the unknown and professional resistance to change.  Some members of the legal fraternity also entertained reservations about the ability and willingness of Member States of the Caribbean Community to provide adequate funding for the Court on a sustainable basis.  Other stakeholders question the likelihood of the CCJ attracting to its benches judges of the required expertise and legal erudition to inspire confidence among members of the legal community and litigants generally.  All of these considerations have been addressed.  Defenders of the Court perceive of this institution as completing the independence of Commonwealth Caribbean States.  Other supporters of the Court consider that an indigenous Court consisting of regional judges is best suited to pronounce on issues of regional importance and, in so doing, contribute to the development of a regional jurisprudence.