Georgetown: As several CARICOM states contemplate having the Caribbean Court of Justice replace the British Privy Council as a final court of appeal there continues to be marked improvement in the number of judgments delivered and overall efficiency of the Court. For the first half of this year alone there has been a 67% increase in the number of appellate judgments delivered when compared to the same period in 2013.
Also significant, is the timeliness in which the Court delivers its judgments. It is the Court’s official policy to issue judgments no later than 6 months after the close of the case and normally within three.
Among the more notable judgments for this year was one in which the CCJ held that a Belizean doctor was negligent in delivering a baby via caesarean section. This negligence was seen to have caused the child to suffer from a lack of oxygen which led to her development of cerebral palsy. In another matter the Court upheld the conviction of Paul Lashley and John Campayne for breaking and entering and rejected the argument that they were only convicted because their attorney was incompetent.
Of the matters decided by the Court for 2014 the majority originated from Guyana. Guyana and Barbados have both used the CCJ as their final Court of appeal since it opened its doors in 2005 while Belize signed on later in 2010. These three are currently the only states to send their appeals to the CCJ. However, efforts are now being made by Grenada, Dominica and St Lucia to adopt the CCJ as their final court of appeal. Grenada, which is obliged to hold a referendum, is working towards holding one to decide on the matter while Dominica and St Lucia merely require an act of parliament to amend the constitution.
The agreement establishing the CCJ was signed by the Heads of Government in 2001. It was established with a dual purpose, to make final decisions on appeal cases and to interpret the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas which gave birth to the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME). It has a unique financing arrangement having a Trust Fund created from a $100 million USD loan from the Caribbean Development Bank to ensure the independence of the Court. Since its inception the Court has heard 120 appeals and ten cases in its original jurisdiction.
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