The President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Adrian Saunders, has observed that, while each countries is free to make a choice regarding its final court, rejecting that regional institution has consequences.
Justice Saunders, speaking in Guyana over the weekend, said it was disappointing for a CARICOM country to renege on its treaty responsibilities, preferring instead to have British judges continue to interpret its Constitution and laws.
He contends that one of the consequences of this choice is that deprives people of ordinary means of access to justice.
Furthermore, he said, it has a negative impact on the full development of Caribbean jurisprudence.
Justice Saunders noted that CCJ judges are constantly being asked whether they regard it as a snub that the most populous CARICOM states still send their final appeals to the Privy Council in London.
Guyana, Barbados, Barbados, Dominica and Belize are the only countries in 15-member CARICOM that are signatories to both the Appellate and Original Jurisdictions of the CCJ.
The issue of Jamaica joining the CCJ has been hotly debated here especially in light of talks about the country becoming a republic.
Recently, noted defence attorney, Valerie Neita Robertson, said a Privy Council decision to overturn the murder conviction of her client has convinced her that the UK-based institution must be retained as Jamaica's final court.
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