The Privy Council vs CCJ

Debate.
FD13A

Countries that withdrew from the Privy Council

Canada-1949
Guyana 1966
Hong Kong 1997
India 1949
Pakistan 1950
Singapore 1994
Barbados 2005
Belize 2011
New Zealand 2003

CCJ: Background
The CCJ has been proposed as the Caribbeans regional

final court of appeal.

It was established in 2001 to replace the London-based
Privy Council as the region's final court.
Only three countries (Barbados, Guyana and

Belize) are full members of the CCJ established in 2001

to replace the London-based Privy Council as the
regions final court of appeal.

CCJ: Trinidad & Tobagos recent intentions(April 2012)

Trinidad intends to introduce legislation to abolish

appeals to the Privy Council only in all criminal

matters.
Privy Council- civil and constitutional matters
CCJ- Criminal matters

CCJ: JURISDICTIONS
The court has dual jurisdictions:

Original jurisdiction and an appellate jurisdiction

1. Original jurisdiction:

The court will regulate trade relationships between the member

states of CARICOM. It will be the sole interpreter of the treaty of
Chaguaramas which establishes CARICOM.
2. Appellate jurisdiction.
In its appellate jurisdiction the court will be the final court to
which an individual can appeal an unsatisfactory judgment.

Arguments in support of the Privy Council

Good track record-good quality judgments- good repute.

History- in existence for many years-institutionalized in 1833.
Objective- far removed from the Caribbean and so decisions are deemed

to be impartial and based solely on the law.

Free to appellants- eg., a group of lawyers called the London Group are

always willing to represent accused persons in death penalty cases.

Human rights oriented- England abolished the death penalty in the

1950s-Europe has been declared a death penalty free zone.

Arguments in support of the Privy Council contd.

Fear that CCJ judges will be politically appointed
CCJ will be a financial burden on Caribbean governments.
Issue of time- the CCJ has not been properly debated-we are not ready for the

CCJ as a final court-we should try the CCJ as a tier below the Privy Council to see
if it works
Poor state of national courts (poor infrastructure, lack of speed and efficiency,

heavy backlog of cases) shows that we will not be able to handle a regional court.
CCJ could become embroiled in political issues which could weaken its authority.
Foreign investors trust the Privy Council

Arguments against the Privy Council

Sovereignty and independenceJudges of the Privy Council are insensitive to local

conditions.
Dual jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justiceeconomic predictability is dependent on the stability
of the legal regime-uniform laws are necessary for
integration.

Arguments against the Privy Council

The Privy Council does not hear many cases from the Caribbean

each year- most of the cases heard are death penalty cases and
cases concerning companies- a former Attorney General for
Jamaica commented that only the wickedest and the richest
appear before the Privy Council.
It is expensive to access the Privy Council but the CCJ will be

itinerant and thus more readily accessible.

The CCJ will allow the Caribbean to develop its own jurisprudence.

Arguments against the Privy Council

Members of the Caribbean judiciary feel that it is an

insult to have their judgments scrutinized by English

judges- suggest that English judges are viewed as
superior- psychological remnant of colonialism
The Privy Council wants to get rid of appeals form

the Caribbean.
Visa requirement.

In your tutorials you should examine:

The arrangements for funding the CCJ- loan of US$100 million loaned through the Caribbean
Development Bank.- US$12 million spent to set up the court- remaining US$88 million held in
a trust fund- to be invested in low risk investments and the interest earned to be used for the
recurring expenses- countries responsible for repaying predetermined portions of the loan- if a
state defaults the CDB reserves the right to call in all outstanding loans for that state

Whether the court will be open to political interference- there are safeguards in the CCJ
Agreement aimed at preventing this- provisions concerning appointment, tenure, remuneration
and termination of judges and their immunity from suit

Referenda and the CCJ- read the case of Independent Jamaica Council and Others v Hon
Syringa Marshall Burnett and the Attorney General of Jamaica (CCJ Case).

Jamaica-Former PM Golding said that a referendum is needed to determine

Jamaicas relationship with the CCJ although it may not be a constitutional

requirement.

Discussion