The Fifth Special Meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee comprising the Hon. Ministers responsible for Legal Affairs and Attorneys-General of the Caribbean Community was convened at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kingston, Jamaica from 19-21 June 2000. The welcome address was delivered by the Hon. David A.C. Simmons, QC, MP, Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs, Barbados, substantive chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee. Consonant with existing practice, the Hon. A.J. Nicholson, QC, Attorney-General of Jamaica was unanimously elected to chair the proceedings of the Fifth Special Meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee.
The Meeting was attended by representatives of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the West Indies.
The Committee had before it an Agenda which comprised several issues of critical importance for the efficient functioning of the Caribbean Community, including preparations for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the obligations of Member States under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation, preparations for the Third Meeting of the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarian scheduled to be convened in Belmopan, Belize in October 2000, draft legislation on the interception of communications and a draft Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance and a draft Regional Maritime Agreement.
In accordance with the public commitment of the Conference of Heads of Government to ensure that the process for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice must be transparent, informed, and inclusive, the Attorneys-General considered proposals from the Council of the Jamaican Bar Association on the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice and the Draft Enabling Bill.
Particular attention was paid to proposals concerning the entrenchment of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the Constitutions of participating States. The Committee acknowledged that that was a matter for each Participating State. Attention was also paid to the composition of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission, qualifications of judges of the Court, the procedure for electing and removal of judges of the Court including the President and funding of the Court.
The Committee also took note of the presentation by the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee on the status of the Public Education Programme relating to the establishment of the Court, as well as preparations by the host country, Trinidad and Tobago, for the Seat of the Court.
Consequent on the deliberations concerning the submissions of the Council of the Jamaican Bar Association and the presentation of the Chairman of the Regional Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Legal Affairs Committee agreed that the Presidents of the Bar and Law Associations of Member States should be invited to meet with them during the month of August. In that regard, Bar and Law Associations of Member States will be invited to submit to the to the CARICOM Secretariat any comments which they may wish to make on the Agreement and other Instruments before the end of July 2000.
The Committee agreed to recommend to the Heads of Government at their Twenty-First Meeting in July 2000 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines that a date be decided upon for the special signing ceremony. The Committee also acknowledged that the signing of the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice itself signifies a commitment to put in place the constitutional procedures required for participation in the regime establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The Committee determined that following the signing of the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Public Education Programme must be intensified to ensure the involvement and meaningful participation of the people in the Region in the necessary constitutional processes.
The Attorneys-General also entertained presentations by Sir Alister McIntyre on the proposed CARICOM/Cuba Agreement; Mr. Gert-Jan van Hegelsom, Head of Department of International and Legal Policy Affairs, Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on a proposed Regional Maritime Agreement to facilitate cooperation on drug interdiction; and Ms. Delia Chatoor, Head, International Committee of the Red Cross office in Trinidad & Tobago on the International Criminal Court.
