Guyana filed 16 matters at CCJ in 2021/2022

…almost thrice the number of cases filed by Barbados, Belize

The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) last week released its annual report for the August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, judicial year; and Guyana has again accounted for the majority of cases filed in the regional tribunal’s Appellate Jurisdiction.
For the period under review, the CCJ sat 39 times. These sittings comprised five case management conferences (CMCs), 19 hearings, and 15 judgement deliveries.
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.
“There was a 32% decrease in new matters filed for the reporting period of 1 August 2021 – 31 July 2022 compared to the previous year, with six cases from Barbados, six cases from Belize, and 16 cases from Guyana. There were no new cases from Dominica,” the report highlighted.
In its Appellate Jurisdiction, the CCJ is the final court of appeal for criminal and civil matters for the above-named Caribbean Community (Caricom) member states.
St Lucia acceded to the CCJ’s Appellate Jurisdiction last month.
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. In the previous year, one matter each was filed by Antigua and Barbuda and Belize and two by Trinidad and Tobago.
According to the CCJ’s Annual Report, this is a 75% decrease in new matters filed for the reporting period of 1 August 2021 – 31 July 2022 compared to the previous year.
In its Original Jurisdiction, the CCJ 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 to protect their rights under the RTC.  The CCJ was inaugurated on April 16, 2005.
Year after year, the CCJ continues to urge other Caricom member states to sign on to its Appellate Jurisdiction instead of using the United Kingdom’s Privy Council.
Caricom’s two largest countries by inhabitants—Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica—which have a combined population of over 4 million, still have the Privy Council as their final court. (G1)