By Elizabeth M. Mitchell-Daxon EDLS BAHAMAS
This column provided by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is aimed at publishing summaries of all CCJ decisions in an effort to educate the public about the activities of the Court. The summaries are written by law students from across the Caribbean, providing them with an avenue to hone and develop their writing skills. The CCJ Corner is expected to play a key role in facilitating the achievement of the Court’s mandate to deepen the regional integration process, develop Caribbean jurisprudence and ensure respect for the rule of law throughout the Caribbean.
CARICOM has established a Competition Commission that investigates and polices anti-competitive business behaviour throughout the CARICOM region. In the CCJ case of Trinidad Cement Limited v The Competition Commission Trinidad Cement Limited (“TCL”) brought an action against the Commission claiming that the Commission failed to consult with and notify it of the Commission’s decisions to investigate alleged anti-competitive business behavior by TCL.
The key question in the case was whether the Commission had a duty to notify TCL before the investigation was launched.
This depended on whether TCL was an “interested party” within the meaning of Article 175 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (the “Treaty”).
In deciding the case, as a preliminary matter the CCJ held that the Commission was a proper party to the