Let the people vote on accepting the CCJ

Jul 29, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
Several leading legal luminaries and politicians have called for the replacement of the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice. Michael de la Bastide has ended his tenure as President of the Court and is appealing to Caribbean countries to sign the treaty making the CCJ their final court of appeal.
Commentaries in your paper also appealed to Caribbean states to accept the CCJ arguing that the region should have its own institutions. But shouldn’t the people have a say on major undertakings like Caricom, CCJ, etc?
I agree with those who say the Europeans have their own regional parliament, court, bank, etc. and since we have a regional body called CARICOM it makes sense for our region to also have institutions to tie us more closely. But there is at least one major difference in regional integration in Europe and the Caribbean.
In Europe, the countries allowed their people to vote on whether they wish to join the union and accept the European court. In the Caribbean, no country allowed its people a voice on whether they should be a part of CARICOM or CCJ.
No country held a referendum asking the people to subject themselves to the CARICOM treaty. And the few that put itself under the jurisdiction of the CCJ, none held a vote asking the people whether they prefer it over the Privy Council as the final court of appeal.
What we have in the Caribbean is the elite makes decisions on behalf of the population. The rulers consider the people fools refusing to given them an opportunity to make major decisions themselves. Since we consider our nations democracies, let us hold a vote on major decisions like breaking from colonial rule, forming a regional body, and accepting the decisions of the CCJ.
Today, colonial rulers are holding votes in their colonies on independence begging their subjects to vote for breaking away from them. But the voters are rejecting independence preferring to retain ties with the White masters. The people don’t trust the local masters who replaced the White masters.
A vote should be held in the Caribbean and minimum threshold should be set on what is accepted for adoption on major undertakings that change governance. It is understandable that an independent nation will not want to hold a vote on whether it should return to colonial rule; such a vote will see most former colonies returning to their former masters having lost confidence in their local rulers.
It will be difficult to hold a vote on whether a nation, already a member, should remain in CARICOM although such a vote may return a huge “no”. But since there are repeated calls for nations to replace the Privy Council with the CCJ, the nations should hold a vote to choose between the two and whichever wins that should be accepted and enforced. The elite and rulers who support the CCJ can campaign for it.
Wherever a plebiscite was held on acceptance of the CCJ, it was defeated. People don’t have faith in the CCJ. Barbados, Belize and Guyana have accepted the CCJ as its final court of appeal after approval by their parliaments not popular support in a national vote.
If these countries hold a referendum on the CCJ and they will be shocked at the result. National opinion in every territory is against the CCJ.
People lack faith and confidence in it. That is the primary reason why rulers and the elite are against a vote throughout the region. Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar said last year that she would allow a referendum on the CCJ.
That is not even being thought of today because the P.M knows people don’t even want to come close to the building hosting the CCJ much less accept it to replace the PC.
People everywhere feel they get fairer justice from England than from the Caribbean. If one examines rulings from the highest courts in the region and appeals to the PC, the law lords overturned a large number of them.
Give the people a vote to choose between PC and CCJ!
Vishnu Bisram

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Let the people vote on accepting the CCJ

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