The Caribbean Court of Justice welcomed Dominica on Friday as the fourth state, of the 12 Caribbean Community members, to access the Appellate Jurisdiction of the CCJ during a ceremony held in Roseau.
“In a certain way, the CCJ has always been your court, but today it is your whole court,” the CCJ’s chief justice, Dennis Byron, said during the livestreamed ceremony.
Byron introduced the CCJ judges and registrars to the audience at the Dominica State House Conference Center in Roseau, the Caribbean nation’s capital.
The attorney general of Dominica, Levi Peter, thanked the British Privy Council for the years it served as the appellate jurisdiction but said it was time to leave behind all colonial traces.
“Dominica’s accession to the CCJ is a significant development, a milestone in our history,” Peter said.
Dominica is one of 12 CARICOM members that use the CCJ as a court of original jurisdiction for interpretation and application of the treaty establishing CARICOM.
Twelve of the 15 CARICOM members are signatories of the CCJ: Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
All 12 states use the CCJ for interpretation and application of the CARICOM treaty, but several do not employ the CCJ as the court of final appeal in civil and criminal cases.
The Bahamas, Haiti and Montserrat are not signatories of the CCJ. EFE
