PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Guardian, Secretary General of Caricom, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, has announced that Dominica and St Lucia are expected to join other countries in making the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) their final court of appeal. While others—including T&T—have not signed on to make the CCJ their final court for all matters, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran said yesterday if there was one area of concern, it was that Caricom had taken collective decisions that were not implemented on a timely basis.
LaRocque and Dookeran were speaking during a media briefing at the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the Waterfront Complex, Port-of-Spain, about the 34th regular meeting of the conference of heads of government of the Caribbean Community, due to begin in Port-of-Spain tomorrow. Fielding questions from the media, Dookeran was asked whether Caricom, which is heading for its 40th anniversary, faced problems over the implementation of decisions. Saying the issue of the CCJ was “a special one,” Dookeran added: “The original jurisdiction was agreed to by many of the countries and with respect to furtherance of that, it is a matter of each country and in the context of building trust, I believe that would be done over time.”
He said during a retreat of Caricom leaders, expected to take place on Friday, the issue of timely implementation would be examined. “If decision-making is at a national, parliamentary level and Caricom decisions are at a regional level, where is the locus standi for making such decisions work and implementing them? “The cumbersome system that exists now has been partly responsible, I would say, for the slowness of implementing decisions in the past,” Dookeran said. “It’s a troubling issue, it’s a vexing issue but it’s an issue resulting from the fact we are all sovereign nations in a collective arrangement of an economic front, and in that sense we have to address those issues,” Dookeran added.
