In a press release, the Caricom Secretariat said the LAC, which is the body established under the Revised Treaty to provide advice on all legal matters met on June 28 and 29 ahead of the 33rd Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government. The LAC Meeting was preceded by a meeting of the senior officials of the Legal Affairs Committee.
The meeting, held under the Chairmanship of Senator Anand Ramlogan, SC, Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago discussed the regional needs for legal education and the requirements for admission to practice as attorneys-at-law, particularly in the common law jurisdictions of Caricom.
The LAC was also advised that the Commonwealth Secretariat had signed two Memoranda of Understanding to provide assistance to Caricom and the Secretariat in the areas of Legislative Drafting and Law Revision. One MOU is a tripartite agreement with Caricom and the Regional Law Revision Centre in Anguilla, to provide efficient and cost-effective law revision services to Members of Caricom. The other MoU is with Caricom and Athabasca University in Canada to provide, through an online programme, post-graduate certification in legislative drafting to legal officials of Caricom member governments.
Eight attorneys-general or justice ministers from the following member states attended the meeting: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. The attorneys-general from Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands, associate members of Caricom also attended.
It has been proposed that the LAC hold a Special Meeting in September with its next ordinary meeting set for May 2013, at which time Belize is expected to assume the Chair, the release said.
