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Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President Adrian Saunders has congratulated the people of Saint Lucia on the ‘momentous occasion’ of the country’s accession to the Court’s Appellate Jurisdiction.
Saint Lucia has officially become the fifth Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to have full membership with the Trinidad-based Court.
The CCJ will now replace the London-based Privy Council as the country’s final Court.
Justice Saunders described the move as a defining step.
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And he said the CCJ welcomes the opportunity to serve the citizens of Saint Lucia.
“Statistics collated by the Court in 2022 reveal that in each Caribbean state that has acceded to the CCJ’s appellate jurisdiction, the volume of cases being heard by that country’s final Court annually has at least doubled, thereby contributing to the dynamism of the country’s jurisprudence and considerably expanding access to justice for its citizenry,” Justice Saunders noted.
“We have no doubt that Saint Lucia too, will have a similar experience,” the CCJ President declared.
“The Honourable Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Dame Janice Pereira, and the President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association, Ms. Diana Thomas Hunte, have been written to advising of the readiness of the CCJ’s Registry staff to assist Saint Lucian court officials, litigants and counsel alike in the use of the CCJ’s electronic filing and case management portals in order to facilitate access to the Court,” he explained.
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Justice Saunders said the CCJ looks forward to serving the people of Saint Lucia as it does all the states and people of the Caribbean Community and, in particular, those of Guyana, Barbados, Belize, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, whose final appeals it hears.
In addition, he said the CCJ looks forward to more CARICOM states accessing the CCJ’s Appellate Jurisdiction in the future.
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