(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Edwin Carrington has made a plea to the CARICOM Legal Affairs Committee (LAC) to give urgent attention to legislation aimed at curbing the increasing incidents of crime and violence in the Community, which he said could threaten the Regional economic integration process.
The Secretary-General made this call during his address to members of the LAC, comprising Attorneys-General and Ministers of the Legal Affairs of CARICOM, and other legal officials of Regional institutions, at the opening of the LAC’s Eleventh Special Meeting on Wednesday 15 June in Georgetown.
Emphasising the importance of the LAC, in conjunction with Ministers responsible for National Security with regard to developing strategies to stem crime and violence in the Region, Mr. Carrington also urged that consideration be given to concluding the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which will facilitate cooperation among the various law enforcement agencies of the Community. In the context of crime and security, the Secretary-General also recommended that swift action be taken to develop the Regional Justice Protection Programme.
Noting that the LAC was instrumental in negotiating the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Mr. Carrington commended Guyana and Barbados for subscribing to the Appellate Jurisdiction of the Court. In this regard, he charged Attorneys-General of other Member States to push for their respective countries to follow suit, thereby enabling “the transition of the Community towards its full independence.”
Highlighting the growing acceptance of the CARICOM Passport as another accomplishment by the LAC, the Secretary-General said there remain other challenges in the Region for the attention of the LAC. He underscored the importance of the adoption of “sunset legislation” to the Region’s preparation for hosting Cricket World Cup (CWC) in 2007, particularly with relation to the protection of brands and trademarks. “The legislation will also deal with other issues regarding ease of movement between participating countries, relaxing of rules in relation to customs duties where possible, and security,” Mr. Carrington stated.
With 2005 designated the Year of the Single Market, the Secretary-General alluded to the progress made by the LAC and the Chief Parliamentary Counsels with respect to completing legislation to govern the operation of the Single Market. He noted that the early approval and enactment of legislation in all participating Member States is crucial to the December 2005 implementation timeline for the Single Market.
Touching on issue of Legal Education in the Community, Mr. Carrington observed that globalisation and liberalisation has made it imperative for the Region to revisit its delivery of legal education at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the law schools. “The continued acceptance of quotas at the UWI Faculty of Law, and by acceptance the Hugh Wooding and Norman Manley Law Schools must be reviewed in light of the prevalence of liberalisation, and in light of the requirements that the CSME and our interactions with the global community,” said Mr. Carrington.
He stated that the Community’s heavy reliance on the LAC, encompasses a range of issues including institutional governance, to which end the Community is awaiting guidance on proposals to reform the Community Council of Ministers to boost the effectiveness of that Organ. Mr. Carrington told the LAC that in the near future, the Community would be seeking its deliberation on a draft instrument to clarify and strengthen the arrangements for governance between the Community and its Institutions, Associate Institutions and Observers.
President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Rt Hon. Mr. Justice Michael de la Bastide, T.C was special guest at the LAC Meeting, while other organisations represented included the Caribbean Council For Legal Education (CLE), the University of the West Indies (UWI), and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.
Guyana’s Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon Doodnauth Singh chaired the Meeting.
