My first duty is to apologise for the unavoidable absence of the Honourable Patrick Manning, Prime Minster of Trinidad and Tobago, to address you this evening. When the Prime Minister asked me to represent him on this occasion, I tried to rationalize his decision. The only answer I could venture is my “longevity” in surviving the long and tortuous course of Caribbean Integration. Like our esteemed colleague, ‘Sony’ Ramphal, very few of us can date ourselves back — more than half-a-century ago — to the starting blocks of the Race for Integration in the ‘sunny’ days of the West Indies Federation.
Be that as it may, it is my pleasant duty, on behalf of the Government and People of Trinidad and Tobago, to welcome you to this part of the Caribbean for the important deliberations you are about to undertake. I sincerely hope that wherever you go, during your stay here, you will feel the embracing warmth of the People for which we are renowned.
Three parties represented here have organized this Meeting: (1) the University of the West Indies through the Caribbean Law Institute Centre at Cave Hill; (2) the CARICOM Secretariat; and (3) the Caribbean Court of Justice. The gathering is described as an “Inaugural Symposium” on legal enquiry and education. The instant topic is “Current Developments in Caribbean Community Law”.
It is, I think, relevant to observe that, five months ago, the Judiciaries of the Caribbean mounted an inaugural Conference, at this very venue, to establish, on the regional scale, the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers. The theme of that Conference was “Caribbean Judiciaries in an Era of Globalization: Meeting the Challenges of the Times”. That Conference, like the current Symposium, was concerned with the development of Caribbean Community Law. But the perspective of the earlier gathering was different. The recommendations that emerged from the earlier Conference will impact very heavily on the development of Community Law – de lege ferenda – i.e. the law as it ought to be in the future.
From the programme of today, the theme of the present Symposium is more empirical. It is about the law as it is today; that is lex lata. The present theme is about the evolution and development of Community Law as interpreted from legal instruments existing today.
From this legal perspective, I think it opportune to re-iterate the established position of Trinidad and Tobago as a Member State of the Caribbean Community. This country has consistently maintained a strong commitment to regional integration. The devout wish of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago is accelerated economic integration in the entire Region leading possibly to political integration for those States that are willing to move in that direction. This strategy for us is not seen as antagonistic to the integration of the wider Caribbean as a whole. Rather, the strategy is offered as a catalyst to hasten the objectives of wider integration.
Some constitutional analysts have noted that, under the Treaty of Chaguaramas, there are two gear-levers that are propelling the sovereign Caribbean States forward in the vehicle of regional convergence. First is the gear-lever of “functional co-operation”; second is the gear-lever of “integration”. Many critics feel that, within the last two years, the gear-lever of “functional co-operation” has been moved to a fast-forward position. At the same time, the gear-lever of “integration” has been moved backwards to a “neutral” position. This is a strategy that causes great unease to Trinidad and Tobago.
It is our view that a strategy that gives priority to ‘functional co-operation’ over ‘integration’ is hazardous for the development of the Caribbean Community as well as for the evolution of Caribbean Community Law. The overwhelming tides flowing from the powerful currents of Globalization threaten to engulf us all in the Region. This is the reality that we face, in common, whether we think of crime, drug trafficking, poverty, climate change, environmental degradation, terrorism, food security or energy security.
Failure on the part of the political directorate of the Region to move ‘the integration-gear-lever’ to the fast-forward position leaves the Region without the necessary institutions of Governance to meet the challenges of the times. A posture of maintaining the status quo imposes a virtual stagnancy on Community Law. In this scenario, the Caribbean Court of Justice, as Custodian of the Rule of Law in the Community, may, through judicial activism, offer some constructive channels of fluidity.
One the one hand, it is instructive that two seminal principles of European Community Law were enunciated by the European Count of Justice in the early stages of the European Community. These were: first, the principle of the supremacy of Community Law over national law; and second, the doctrine of direct effect which accords to individuals substantive and procedural rights under Community Law.
On the other hand, there are limits upon which any democratic legal system should rely upon judicial activism for its sustained growth and development. The constitutional responsibility for the creation of secondary Community Law rests on Member States acting through Ministerial Councils with legislative capacity. This is the democratic standard that requires the establishment of institutions of Governance for the creation of Community Law.
With these observations, we look forward to hearing the views of the Honourable President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Feature Speaker at this Inaugural Session. We do hope that all the proceedings of this Symposium will bear great fruit both in the immediate and in the long run.
Honourable Chair, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you.
