Political Will Needed To Set Up Caribbean Court
CHANCELLOR Kenneth George feels that the political will and patience are needed from governments in the region if a Caribbean Court is to be established.
The Chancellor was among three members of the local Bar who took part in a discourse on the pros and cons of a Caribbean Court on Sunday, February 10 organised by the University of Guyana. The others were Mr. Llewelyn John, president of the Guyana Bar Association and Mr. Bryn Pollard Legal Consultant to the Caricom Secretariat.
The Chancellor argued that the cost factor of setting up such a Court must be taken into account, pointing out that in order to attract the best legal brains to sit on the Court the salaries offered must be attractive. The Court’s workload was also raised.
He was also concerned about costs as they would affect the “small man” seeking redress from the Court. He said finding the high legal fees to pay the best Guyanese lawyers to travel to Port-ofSpain, the Trinidad and Tobago capital, where the Court is likely to be sited could pose a problem.
Another worrying question raised by the Chancellor is what would happen if and when Haiti and Suriname become members of Caricom, noting that these countries have a different legal system to the common law legal system of the former English-speaking colonies, which make up the Community.
The Chancellor also made the point that the Guyana Court of Appeal is growing in stature.
Some of the concerns expressed by Mr. George including whether the Court would be itinerant or stationary and who will bear some of the costs were answered by Mr. Pollard in his presentation. Pollard pointed out that work permits will not be needed for lawyers going to Trinidad and Tobago to attend the proposed Court.
During question time attorney-at-law Peter Britton called on the local Judiciary to bear on the political directorate to bring about an early resolution of the establishment of a Caribbean Court of Appeal. Prominent members of the local and Caribbean bar have supported this idea for at least the last two decades.