"Government will establish the Caribbean Court of Justice" that's what Cabinet Secretary Bobby Leslie said today after the PUP government met in Cabinet and caucus and fully endorsed the Prime Minister's response to the UDP proposals. Now it's left to be seen if the UDP Central Party Council will endorse it tomorrow.
But whatever the UDP decides, Cabinet Secretary Leslie says, it doesn't matter; the Prime Minister has made a reasoned response to the opposition proposals and that is as far as he will go. So at Friday's house sitting that means the opposition may choose to block the constitutional amendment to de-link form the Privy Council.
But that won't stop government's plan, which will then be downgraded to establishing the Caribbean Court of justice as a parallel court with original jurisdiction meaning that essentially Belizeans would have the options of two Courts of Appeal depending on what matter is being appealed. In that scenario, the best government can hope for is that the already unpopular Privy Council eventually dies by attrition as fewer and fewer countries rely upon it. At a press briefing on June 23rd Attorney General Hon. Eamon Courtenay addressed that eventuality.
[June 23rd) Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Attorney General
"The Labor Party of the government of the United Kingdom has announced earlier this year I believed it was a major reform of its own judicial reform leading to the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In announcing that reform nothing was said specifically about the judicial committee of the Privy Council in terms of its future. But I think anyone who wants to read between the lines will see that it is unlikely that this institution which existed simply to assist the colonial power to resolve disputes from its colonies in the metropol will succeed in the 21st Century for much longer."
But whether the Privy Council is put out to pasture or not, government remains fixed on its plans to implement the CCJ with or without a constitutional amendment. That straight-ahead approach by the government, is bad news for the opposition, which was hoping to still force government's hand some more meaning that they plan to demand further concessions such as an increase in the community vote and a mandatory debt ceiling.
But it's clear that government's proposal as it stands would not pass in the UDP camp. Many we spoke with say they will not vote for it and party leader Barrow, it appears, will not use up political capital in his own party to push a PUP proposal. Though well sourced, all this is speculative right now. It will be final at the end of tomorrow's Central Party Council meeting at which point we'll have a clearer idea of what will happen at Friday's House Meeting.
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