Both Houses of Parliament have finally given approval to the much deliberated Caribbean Court of Justice (Original Jurisdiction) Act 2005, in time for the official inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today (April 16) in Trinidad.

Prime Minister P. J. Patterson and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K. D. Knight are attending the ceremony.
Piloting the Bill through its final stages in the Senate yesterday (April 15), after approval in the House on April 12, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, A.J. Nicholson said the inauguration ceremony would be a signal moment in history, marking the arrival at another plateau on the journey, which had been undertaken over three decades ago.

He said the inauguration ceremony would constitute another firm step in the developmental processes by which member states of the Caribbean have agreed to find space within the global arrangements to forge a regional trading bloc.

Senator Nicholson, in addressing concerns raised by the Opposition that the amounts to be expended to fund the Court in the sum of US $27 million, should be used to improve the local Courts, pointed out that whether or not the decision was to have the Privy Council or the CCJ as the final court of appeal, the administration was obliged to see the improvement and maintenance of the system of justice in Jamaica.

The Attorney General further explained that the financial arrangements that were arrived at and the manner in which the Trust Fund would be managed, came about as a direct response to finding mechanisms for the proper insulation of the Judges of the Court from political or other interference.

He reminded colleagues that the formula used in deciding the amount to be contributed by each member state was based on the formula applied to all institutions within CARICOM.

In addition, he said the Trust Fund that has been established would provide for the stable operations of the court in perpetuity, so that once the financial obligations of a member state to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) had been fully met, there would be no need for further contributions to be made.

Members of the Opposition, while stating that they had no objections to the Bill, argued that the amount to be expended to maintain the court was too high, considering the fact that it was unlikely that there would be need to use the court as the disputes could be settled by other means identified by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, without going to the court.

Leader of Government Business, Senator Burchell Whiteman said while it was acknowledged that there was room for improvement in Jamaica’s justice system, particularly where physical infrastructure was concerned, it was not reason enough to refrain from advancing with the CCJ.

Senator Nicholson said the Administration understood and respected the Privy Council ruling and pointed out that it could be interpreted as their way of encouraging collaboration between the parties.

He assured that the government had no intention of having the Privy Council ruling circumvented on the basis of simple majority, but would be proceeding with the entrenchment process to have the court instituted in its appellate jurisdiction at a later date.

The Judicial committee of the Privy Council in its recent decision declared the Caribbean Court of Justice Act 2004, along with the Caribbean Court of Justice Constitutional Amendment Act 2004 and the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act 2004 unconstitutional and void.

The Acts declared unconstitutional and void were Acts to establish the CCJ as a Court of Original Jurisdiction and Appellate Jurisdiction and abolish appeals to the Privy Council substituting such appeals, with petitions to the CCJ in implementation of treaty obligations under the agreement establishing the CCJ.

The Privy Council in giving its decision said the difficulty was not whether the Parliament had the power to achieve the intended objectives by the three Acts, but whether the procedural means of achieving it followed the procedures required by the Constitution.

In light of this and in discharge of Jamaica’s obligations under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the decision was taken by Jamaica to establish the CCJ as a court of original jurisdiction with exclusive power in relation to the interpretation and application of the Treaty and to do so by the procedure appropriate for the enactment of ordinary legislation.

The CCJ as a court of original jurisdiction will have compulsory exclusive jurisdiction in relation to matters concerning the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. As such, the CCJ will discharge the functions of an international tribunal applying the rules of international law with respect to the interpretation and application of the Treaty.