KINGSTON, Jamaica – Much has already been made of the award by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) of approximately J$4 million to Shanique Myrie, the Jamaican woman who, two and a half years ago, was deported from Barbados after being held overnight in a cell and allegedly subjected to a vaginal search.
But the focus on the vindication of Ms Myrie misses the larger, and potentially more potent, import of the court's ruling and the lessons to be learned by Jamaica.
Further, as much as the Barbados government may initially bristle, this ruling strikes a major blow for the Caribbean integration project from which Barbadians will also benefit. It is a statement, too, about the relevance of the CCJ, how the court might even now be more efficaciously utilised by Jamaica, and a compelling argument for us to accede to its criminal and civil jurisdictions.
