Port-of-Spain: The Acting Chief Justice, Wendell Kangaloo, says the Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the announcement by the Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar, in Parliament today relative to the intention of her government to introduce legislation to have the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court in respect of criminal matters in our jurisdiction.
The Prime Minister, prior to her announcement this afternoon, communicated government’s intention to the Chief Justice, Justice Ivor Archie, who is abroad attending the Commonwealth Judicial Educational Institute biennial conference, and also to Justice Kangaloo who is acting for Mr Justice Archie.
Justice Kangaloo notes that the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago is a strong advocate of having the CCJ as its final appellate court. He points out, the Chief Justice, in his address to the opening of the 2010/2011 Law Term made an outstanding case for this position.
Also, he says, the immediate Past President of the CCJ, Justice Michael de la Bastide, who is also a former Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago, has also spoken in a similar vein on several occasions.
Additionally, at the inaugural distinguished jurist lecture series launched by the Judicial Educational Institute of Trinidad and Tobago last year, former Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Shridath Ramphal, demonstrated in his inimical compelling style the irony of this jurisdiction still having to cling to its former colonial masters for the final determination of its legal disputes, in spite of almost 50 years of national independence.
Justice Kangaloo says it is significant that today’s development comes at a time when the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago is preparing a series of events to commemorate 50 years of the post independence Court of Appeal, and considers today’s announcement a major step towards finally creating a regional or Caribbean indigenous Jurisprudence to which the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago remains firmly committed.
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