Samuel Bailey | Achieving resilience through regional integration
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As we enter 2026, one of the main priorities for Jamaica and the Caribbean should be strengthening regional ties. In a time of uncertainty on the global landscape, the Caribbean must utilise regional integration as a vehicle for resilience. If we have learned anything from recent disasters, it is that even though we are an island, we do not stand alone and CARICOM is one of our most powerful assets.
From an economic lens, regional integration has been a core goal, but deeper examination reveals the negative effects of a fragmented legal and regulatory environment on businesses and professionals. Additional barriers such as high travel taxes and inconsistent customs practices only exacerbate the situation. The solution, while not simple, is couched in the effectiveness of our policies rather than their existence. The region must agree on binding deadlines to streamline processes and battle inefficiencies across CARICOM Member States.
As a lawyer, I am one of many who argue that the integration of our judicial system is mandatory for regional success. Accession to the CCJ in its appellate jurisdiction can strengthen an otherwise structurally weak system of economic integration.
With more appellate matters emanating from the region, the CCJ now plays an instrumental key role in improving access to justice. The added benefits of development of regional jurisprudence and the realisation of true constitutional independence and judicial sovereignty should be convincing enough to make this a priority. Further, legal harmonisation is essential for investor confidence and will play a major role in the economic development of the region.
The upshot, if we intend to be resilient going forward, we must “seek strength in unity” through the prioritisation of self-sufficiency and true integration of the Caribbean region.
Samuel Bailey is Jamaica’s 2020 Rhodes Scholar. He is an attorney-at- law and a UK-qualified solicitor whose focus is on the intersection of law, finance and technology.