The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) observes its 10th anniversary this year. The observance of the significant milestone was announced Tuesday by Mr Justice Adrian Saunders.
Justice Saunders said that the judges and administrative staff of the Court were “extremely proud” that for the last decade, we have been afforded the opportunity to serve the Region in implementing the historic mandate of the Court and in furthering the development of Caribbean jurisprudence.”
The CCJ was inaugurated on 16 April, 2005 in Trinidad and Tobago where it is headquartered. Its central role is providing legal certainty to the operations of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It is structured to have two jurisdictions – an original and an appellate.
The CCJ’s mission is set out as follows: “the Caribbean Court of Justice shall perform to the highest standards as the supreme judicial organ in the Caribbean Community. In its original jurisdiction it ensures uniform interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, thereby underpinning and advancing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. As the final court of appeal for Member States of the Caribbean Community it fosters the development of an indigenous Caribbean jurisprudence”.
See full press release from the CCJ below:
At the start of its first court proceedings for 2015 earlier today, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) formally announced its 10th anniversary year.
The CCJ was inaugurated and began operations on April 16, 2005. This year will mark the Court’s 10th year of operations, an important milestone for the regional judicial institution. The announcement was made today by Mr Justice Adrian Saunders, presiding Judge, during court proceedings for the consolidated appeals of Timothy Walsh, Stephen Ward, Bjorn Bjerkham and Nature’s Produce Inc., a Barbadian appellate jurisdiction matter.
In his announcement, Mr. Justice Saunders highlighted;
“The CCJ has come a long way over those ten years. As compared to the solitary case that was filed and heard in 2005, last year the Court delivered 21 judgments 6 of which were from Barbados, 4 from Belize and 11 from Guyana. Twenty-six matters were filed in 2014. It is for our stakeholders (lawyers, courts throughout the region, academia, the general public) to assess critically the jurisprudence the Court has fashioned over those years but the judges and administrative staff of the Court are extremely proud that for the last decade we have been afforded the opportunity to serve the region in implementing the historic mandate of the Court and in furthering the development of Caribbean jurisprudence.”
Speaking to the Court’s plans for its 10th year of operations, Mr Justice Saunders shared;
“Throughout this calendar year the Court will be embarking on a variety of activities to commemorate this, our 10th Anniversary. These activities will unfold over the following months and details of them will be published in due course. Suffice it to say that on behalf of Sir Dennis Byron, President of the Court and all the judges and staff, I take this opportunity now formally to signal the commencement of our anniversary year and to invite all our customers and stakeholders to join with us in commemorating this significant milestone over the coming months.”
