(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) Citizens of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be privy to the opening ceremony to mark the inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Saturday 16 April in Trinidad and Tobago. The event will be broadcast live commencing at 9:00 a.m. on all Caribbean Media Corporation's (CMC) Member Stations. Caribbean media specialist Mr. Julian Rogers will anchor the broadcast. The formal inauguration ceremony as well as a planned interfaith service will be held at Queen's Hall in Trinidad and Tobago.
The CCJ has already set up its Headquarters in the Unit Trust Building in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. It will be headed by a President and supported by a team of ten other judges, six of whom have already been appointed.
With the exception of Dominica and Jamaica, all CARICOM Member States have signed on to the Court, but no cases will be heard in the CCJ until Member States have completed the passage of legislation that will cause the complete cessation of cases to be heard before the London based Privy Council.
The formal ceremony to mark the inauguration of the CCJ will include speeches from CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington and four CARICOM Heads of Government. These include Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Dr. the Hon Kenny Anthony; Prime Minister of Barbados, the Rt Hon. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Patrick Manning and Chairman of CARICOM and President of the Republic of Suriname, His Excellency Drs. Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan.
A major highpoint of the inauguration ceremony will be the procession of the Region's Chief Justices and Judges of the CCJ; an introduction of the Judges of the CCJ by the President of the Court, Honorable Michael de la Bastide, and musical renditions by Caribbean artistes such as Rikki Jai, Exodus Steel orchestra and Len “Boogsie” Sharp.
The inauguration of the CCJ will be realised after decades of talks among CARICOM Heads of Government, legal luminaries, and academicians among others. For many, it represents the completion of the Community's cycle of independence.
The Court will function in an Appellate Jurisdiction to adjudicate on civil and criminal matters arising from national courts and an Original Jurisdiction to interpret and apply the rules that govern the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
CONTACT:
Rose Blenman
rblenman@caricom.org
