The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is expected to be functional by the end of the year. In Belize, the announcement that the court will be implemented soon has been met with what we take to be widespread public approval, but, then again, that could also be mass apathy. Still, no one's burning up the morning airwaves to raise fire on the court, which, it is proposed, would take the place of the Privy Council.
But still, the CCJ is different from the Privy Council in many regards. Most fundamentally, the court is intrinsic to the character of the region as a unified bloc, a single market and economy where as Attorney General Hon. Eamon Courtenay pointed out at a familiarization session today trade disputes would be settled.
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Attorney General
"Some of you may have heard of the difficulties we have had in the past in exporting beans to CARICOM; and they are other commodities but let's just take beans. That eventually goes to an organ of CARICOM called (COTED) the Council of Trade and Economic Development that has no coercive power. It has no definitive power and can only simply try to facilitate the resolution of the dispute. With the creation of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Belize or interested business companies in Belize will have a right to have that matter determined by the CCJ in a definitive way. It is a requirement for us to truly become beneficiaries of all opportunities that exist in CARICOM. If we are not yet at the point as a region where we believe we can create an institution that will function and will resolve our dispute, we are in effect questioning our independence."
It is proposed that the court would be headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, which, in an ironic twist, has still not gotten opposition support for the constitutional amendment require din that country. It's ironic because the current leader of the opposition was the Prime Minister who first endorsed the court for his country. In Belize it is still unclear if our opposition will support the constitutional amendment.