CCJ under scrutiny - Regional court urged to move on allegations of division, ‘toxic’ environment

Allegations that have emerged about the operations of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) should be urgently addressed, a former senior regional diplomat has asserted.

“It is not a trivial matter, and I am hoping that those responsible for the CCJ itself will in fact treat it with the urgency and the seriousness with which it deserves,” Ambassador Byron Blake, former assistant secretary general of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), told The Gleaner yesterday.

He stressed that “allegations are not proven facts”, and called for the CCJ “to institute an appropriate arrangement to cauterise the situation before it gets out of hand”.

Blake was responding to articles published in Trinidad and Tobago’s Sunday Express newspaper, which cited a series of emails it said it obtained, raising several allegations about the court’s operations, the relationship among judges, and what one email reportedly referred to as an increasingly ‘toxic’ environment at the court.

The Gleaner has not seen the alleged emails.

In a statement, also published by the Sunday Express, the CCJ pointed to its independence, impartiality, integrity, and commitment to public confidence in the execution of its duties.

“The court is mindful that questions and allegations presented without the benefit of context, background, or an appreciation of the nature of judicial deliberations, collegial discussions, and institutional governance may lend themselves to misunderstanding or mischaracterisation,” the statement read.

The Sunday Express said the CCJ did not directly address the 15 questions it sent to its president, Justice Winston Anderson, last Wednesday. Anderson, who is Jamaican, took over as president in July last year.

The Gleaner has since sought a response from the CCJ president regarding the allegations.

Blake, who is also the former deputy permanent representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, said he is not surprised by disagreements within the regional court. However, he said he would be shocked if early steps were not taken to resolve the matter.

Disciplinary matters

Under the agreement establishing the CCJ, disciplinary matters are handled primarily through the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), formal tribunal processes, and heads of government of CARICOM member states.

The RJLSC is an independent body responsible for appointing judges, except the president, and overseeing discipline among other judges and employees.

The president of the CCJ is appointed by a qualified majority of three-quarters of the contracting parties, and on the recommendation of the RJLSC. On appointment, the president also assumes chairmanship of the RJLSC.

Established in 2001 and opened in 2005, the CCJ is the regional judicial tribunal for CARICOM and is headquartered in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

The court acts as an international court with exclusive jurisdiction to interpret and apply the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which governs CARICOM and the single market and economy.

It also serves as the final court of appeal for five CARICOM states.

The newspaper revelation of tension among judges of the top regional court comes amid debate in Jamaica and other CARICOM states that do not use the CCJ as their final appellate court, and instead retain the United Kingdom-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as their final court on civil and criminal appeals.

Emphasising that the CCJ, over the years, has issued “solid, solid judgments”, Blake rejected any speculation about how the allegations could impact the integrity of the court.

“What the present situation might be is an early warning that says ‘this must be taken care of by the organisation’,” he said.

“Certainly we can say, for an organisation which has been operating for more than 20 years, you couldn’t use something that happens in just one or two years, and is still to be resolved and adjudicated, to make a case,” he added.

He also highlighted the independence of the CCJ which, he argued, protects the court from external influence.

Meanwhile, leading Jamaican lawyer and former Solicitor General Michael Hylton, King’s Counsel, described the allegations as “very unfortunate”, stating that he was looking forward to hearing responses from the “relevant persons”.

He said, however, that the impact of the situation on advocacy in Jamaica for the island to join the CCJ’s appellate jurisdiction will “depend on whether it turns out to be true or not, and how it is dealt with”.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com