Caribbean Court Of Justice Hears First Case

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

11 August 2005

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which is based in Trinidad & Tobago, commenced its first hearing on Tuesday in a case referred by the Barbados Supreme Court.

The CCJ replaces the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the court of last instance for members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and will also serve as an appeal court in both civil and criminal cases from common law courts in these member states. However, to date, only Barbados and Guyana have ratified the necessary legislation adopting the CCJ.

In the CCJ's first case, a nine-member panel of judges is attempting to decide whether to overturn a libel ruling given by a Barbadian court. The libel allegedly occurred when a radio station broadcast calypso songs mocking the quality of a poultry farmer's produce. The farmer in question claimed that he had to close his farm in 1990 as a result of the criticism.

In June, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Rt. Hon Justice Michael de la Bastide urged regional Attorneys-General to ensure that the CCJ is in receipt of all national legislation in relation to the Court, and to expedite adoption of the Appellate Jurisdiction Rules of Court, given that two Member States have now enacted the legislation.

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