20th anniversary celebrations: CCJ hailed for safeguarding Guyana’s democracy in explosive 2020 elections

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) coming into being, the regional court has been recognized for its role in some of the most important regional cases in recent history, including Guyana’s 2020 National and Regional Election cases, where it helped determine the country’s democratic future and defused a volatile and potentially explosive situation.
On Wednesday, the CCJ celebrated the 20th anniversary of its establishment as the regional court in 2005. At the interfaith ceremony held to mark the occasion, Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commissioner Trinidadian Senior Counsel Sophia Chote reflected on some of the most pivotal regional cases the court presided over. Among those cases were several from Guyana regarding its 2020 General and Regional Elections. Despite evidence that then President David Granger and his A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition government had lost by a large margin, efforts were being made to swear him in as the elected president based on a falsified report done by the country’s electoral machinery.

“The Cooperative Republic of Guyana had held elections in 2020. It was a complicated situation, but it appeared that a result was declared which did not reflect the actual count. And that it was the intention to swear in a President from the losing party. The case was quickly litigated through to the CCJ,” Chote said.
Chote noted that, at the time, the CCJ had expressed its duty to uphold the relevant constitution, a duty the court upholds to this day. The report, compiled by embattled former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, would have disenfranchised over 100,000 voters. The CCJ’s ruling invalidated this report, and according to Chote, helped defuse a volatile situation in Guyana – and potentially the region.
“The applicants were granted the reliefs sought. The fact that there was a regional court of substance and integrity, which had addressed and ruled upon the matter, in my very respectful view, must have done much to diffuse what must have appeared to have been quite an explosive situation, not only for Guyana, but for the region,” she added.
Another case Chote reflected on is one of its earliest cases, involving TCL Guyana Inc. and the Government of Guyana. In this 2008 case, TCL Guyana had approached the court for leave to sue the Government, claiming that Guyana had breached the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
“It was the first community law case. And the court ruled on three aspects of community law: Private access, state liability, and damages. While the cases generated a great deal of community heat, the judgements have remained important landmarks,” Chote also said.
The CCJ was inaugurated on April 16, 2005 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It serves as the final court of appeal for Barbados, Belize, and Guyana. In its Original Jurisdiction, however, it is an international court with exclusive authority to interpret and apply the rules set out in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), and to decide disputes arising under it. The RTC established Caricom and the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).
In its Original Jurisdiction, the CCJ is critical to the CSME, and all 12 Member States which belong to the CSME (including citizens, businesses, and governments) can access the court’s Original Jurisdiction to protect their rights under the RTC.
Over the years, Guyana has accounted for most of the cases filed before the CCJ. As a matter of fact, for the period 1st August 2020 to 31st July 2021, that judicial year saw 19 cases filed from Guyana, 15 from Barbados, four from Belize, and three from Dominica.