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LAW AND TRADE IN CARICOM SPOTLIGHT

Two significant meetings in the lead up to the XIXth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community take place in Georgetown, Guyana next week.

The Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and the Legal Affairs Committee will both convene with COTED taking place at the Bank of Guyana headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat and the Legal Affairs Committee at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel. The Fourth Meeting of COTED begins on Monday June 1 and ends on Saturday June 6, 1998 while the Second Meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee starts on Tuesday June 2 and ends on Friday June 5, 1998. The Legal Affairs Committee comprises the Attorneys-General and Ministers of Legal Affairs of the Community.

Matters relative to the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and the Region’s external trade will be in focus at the COTED meeting including the Common External Tariff which is set for the final phase of zero to 20 percent. The Ministers will also consider Protocol VII Amending the Treaty of Chaguaramas which examines the Disadvantaged Countries, regions and Sectors. This is one of the Protocols which Heads of Government are expected to sign at the St Lucia Meeting of Conference which begins on June 30, 1998.

There will also be discussion on the harmonisation of laws to facilitate establishment and operation of the Single Market and Economy. These include Customs Laws and Corporate Taxation Legislation. Ministers will look at the status of implementation of the CARICOM Double Taxation Agreement, the Free Movement of University Graduates, the operationalisation of the Agreement on Social Security and progress towards Capital Market and Monetary and Financial Integration.

Trade, economic and technical co-operation agreements with third countries such as Canada and Colombia, developments in the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Dominican Republic and the Free Trade Area of the Americas will also be discussed.

The Attorneys-General have a packed agenda for their sessions at which they will consider items ranging from the Protocols to the Death Penalty.

They will have a final look at Protocols III (Industrial Policy); IV (Trade Policy), V (Agricultural Policy) and VII (Disadvantaged Countries, Regions and Sectors) before they are prepared for signature in St Lucia.

Another important element of the integration equation, the Caribbean Supreme Court, will come under the scrutiny of the Legal Committee. The meeting will consider the agreement establishing the Court, the rules of Court, the seat of the court and logistical arrangements for the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

A draft agreement on the Regional Justice Protection Programme and the Report of the Committee on the Development of Legal Education and the Practice of Law in the Community will also come before the Meeting. It is also expected that there will be discussion on possible harmonisation of approaches to the death penalty in the Community.

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