(Trinidad Guardian) Government will be moving to make the Caribbean Court of Justice T&T’s final appellate court–and there are no reasons that could possibly present any obstacle to the Opposition leader supporting the requisite vote for this since, she’d spoken of abolishing appeals to the Privy Council in April 2012.
Attorney General Reginald Armour indicated the situation yesterday, indirectly putting the Opposition on notice for support towards the CCJ becoming T&T’s final appeal court.
Armour did so in Senate debate on a motion by Independent Senator Anthony Vieira, who’d called for the CCJ to be recognised as the final Court of Appeal for T&T and for the appropriate amendments to be made to alter T&T’s Constitution for this.
Armour paid tribute to Vieira, saying he supported and applauded his “very timely motion.”
Armour added: ”Within the first week of my assumption of office as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley gave me his unequivocal support for making a main plank of my tenure in office, the completion of this country’s journey to fulfil its treaty obligations of acceding to the CCJ as our final court of appeal to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.”
Armour said T&T had signed on to this and affirmed–but is in breach on the issue.
“We must move to accomplish the three-quarters vote in the other place (House of Representatives) and the two-thirds vote here (Senate),” he added.
In that regard, Armour noted the April 25, 2012 remarks by Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, when, as prime minister, she had made a statement to Parliament signalling her government’s intention then to bring legislation to secure the limited abolition of appeals to the Privy Council.
He quoted her statement, including the intention of saying “goodbye to the Privy Council.”
Armour added, “I can think of no reason, not rational or otherwise, that could possibly now present any obstacle to the Opposition leader, therefore, lending her support to the requisite votes to accede T&T to the CCJ as our final court of appeal.”
He said T&T is uniquely positioned to take that final step as a member of the revised Treaty of Chagua-ramas and signatory to establishing the CCJ.
“I embrace with enthusiasm and passion, therefore, the opportunity to participate in this final journey,” Armour added.
He noted Michael de la Bastide’s 2021 memoir had stated that a major disappointment of his CCJ presidency was T&T’s failure to make the CCJ its final appeal court.
Vieira, in his motion, had cited opinions on the issue by regional and international jurists, including de la Bastide, the former CCJ president. He said it was high time for T&T to complete the break from its colonial past and the “colonial umbilical cord should be cut.”
Vieira said in terms of access to justice, the CCJ beats the Privy Council “hands down” and noted the irony that despite it being based here, it’s not T&T’s final appeal court.
The UNC said yesterday it will not support the move.
