CCJ to hold sittings in Guyana next month

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will be sitting in Guyana from June 21 to 22 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, according to a notice published in the dailies by the regional court’s Registrar and Chief Marshall, Gabrielle Figaro-Jones.
During this time, it will hear five cases, two of which are from Guyana.
The cases from Guyana are: Micah Williams v the Director of Public Prosecutions and Sasedai Kumarie Persaud v Sherene Mongroo, Zenobia Rosenberg, and Indranie Mulchand.
Also scheduled to be heard are Apsara Restaurants (Barbados) Limited v Guardian General Insurance and James Ricardo Alexander Fields v The State, both of which are cases from Barbados, and Successors Limited v the State of Jamaica from Dominica.
Earlier this year, the Trinidad-based CCJ published its annual report for the August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022 judicial year in which it was revealed that Guyana accounted for the majority of cases filed in the regional tribunal’s Appellate Jurisdiction.
Of the 28 total cases filed, 16 were from Guyana and six each from Barbados and Belize. No case was filed by Dominica. This total comprised 14 notices of appeal and 14 applications for special leave. Fifty-seven per cent of the matters were civil, while 43 per cent were criminal.
For the period under review, the CCJ sat 39 times. These sittings comprised five case management conferences (CMCs), 19 hearings, and 15 judgement deliveries.
Moreover, in the August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022 judicial year, one matter was filed in the court’s Original Jurisdiction by Antigua and Barbuda. The CCJ was inaugurated in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on April 16, 2005, and presently has a Bench of seven Judges presided over by CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders.
The CCJ has an Original and an Appellate Jurisdiction and is effectively, therefore, two courts in one. In its Original Jurisdiction, it is an international court with exclusive jurisdiction 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 the Caribbean Community (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 their citizens, businesses, and governments) can access the Court’s Original Jurisdiction to protect their rights under the RTC.
In its Appellate Jurisdiction, the CCJ is the final court of appeal for criminal and civil matters for those countries in the Caribbean that alter their national Constitutions to enable the CCJ to perform that role. At present, five states access the Court in its Appellate Jurisdiction, these being Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, and St Lucia.
However, by signing and ratifying the Agreement Establishing the CCJ, the other Member States of the Community have demonstrated a commitment to making the CCJ their final court of appeal.