C.C.J. is focus of legal summit
Members of Belize’s legal community convened in Belize City today for the annual Bench and Bar Summit. But this year, the focus was on the changes that could lie ahead as the Caribbean Court of Justice comes on stream. Patrick Jones was on hand for the opening.
Godfrey Smith, Attorney General
“Today’s deliberations should not be overly dominated by arguments on the pros and cons of de-linking from the Privy Council, for we are now on the very doorsteps of the court waiting to go in.”
Patrick Jones, Reporting
And with that said, the 2003 edition of the Bench and Bar Summit began with the intent of previewing the “litigation revolution” as countries of the region prepare for the opening the Caribbean Court of Justice next year. Guest panellist for the first session, Barbados Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, described the C.C.J. as an historic necessity.
Sir David Simmons, Chief Justice of Barbados
“It’s paradoxical that notwithstanding the transfer of the legislative and executive functions from the former colonial power to independent states in the Commonwealth Caribbean, the transfer has not been complete because the judicial arm at the highest level of the states still resides outside the Caribbean. So that the decision of the Commonwealth Caribbean states to severe links with the Privy Council signifies the commencement of the last stages in the process designed to remove the final vestiges of colonialism, and therefore heralds the Caribbean region’s movement towards autonomous decision making in judicial matters.”
Simmons says the opening of the C.C.J., which will have its seat of power in Port of Spain, Trinidad, will mark the culmination of a process that actually began as far back at 1970 when at a head of government meeting Jamaica called for the establishment of what was at that time called a Caribbean Court of Appeal. Attorney General Godfrey Smith expects the shift from London to Port of Spain will be easy.
Patrick Jones
“Is there likely to be a gap in justice or the feeling the justice has been served when we move from the Privy Council to the C.C.J., being that the C.C.J. is a new creature?”
Godfrey Smith
“I for my view think not. It is simply a matter of replacing one court with another. Some of the big problems like how will we fund the court and what happens when a country does not pay up in time have been resolved through the matter of the trust fund. There will be one lump sum figure, a hundred million, which will be raised through the Caribbean Development Bank. That amount will be put in a trust and the interest accrued from that trust will ensures that the expenses of the court can be paid indefinitely in to the future, so that there won’t be a case where the court has to shop around to different countries and say, oh Belize you haven’t paid up, you need to pay for this year. That’s taken care of up front. With that taken care of then, I believe that countries of the Caribbean have the qualified persons whether they be practitioners or judges to properly man the C.C.J. And obviously with time and with experience, we believe it will blossom into a very, very effective court.”
Smith says one way of gaining acceptance is to make the peoples of the region feel they are a part of the C.C.J.
Patrick Jones
“How do you engender confidence in Belizeans that the way to ultimate justice will now have to go through Port of Spain instead of London?”
Godfrey Smith
“Remember that I also pointed out that the court is also supposed to be itinerant. So I believe that if we are able to get the court to sit or have a session in Belize where everybody can come and observe it, that is far more accessible than having the Privy Council in London where most of us are not able to access it. So I believe the fact of having it itinerant in the region, moving around the region will help engender the necessary confidence that’s required.”
The Bench and Bar summit, which is in its fifth year running, had the participation of people from every strata of the judicial system. The high-powered team of panellists included eminent members of the regional fraternity, including Master Christine Morris-Alleyne of the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago. Patrick Jones, for News 5.
The Attorney General says that looking back, the objectives of the Bench and Bar Summit over the years have been met whereby participants have been able to successfully examine not only old practices, but new developments in the dispensation of justice. Today’s summit, which was held at the Radisson Hotel, also discussed a new set of rules that will govern court proceedings. Smith says the new Civil Procedures Rules, which are expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2004, are designed to reduce delays and improve the nation’s case management system.
