Among other things, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has found a creative method to address the problem of systemic delays in the region’s courts.
This, according to Commissioner in the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission, Sophia Chote SC.
Addressing the Interfaith Service for the 20th anniversary of the Caribbean Court of Justice at Queen’s Hall on Wednesday, she highlighted the justice reform work of the organisation and noted that the court is approaching its fourth generation, with the incoming President, Justice Winston Anderson, taking office in a few months.
“I must acknowledge that Justice Anderson, together with the late Justice Witt, had been the drivers of a project of considerable innovation. And that is to say, what we now know as the conference at Needham’s Point in Barbados, which led to the Needham’s Point Declaration.”
The Needham Point Declaration was adopted at the CCJ Academy for Law’s Seventh Biennial Law Conference in October 2023.
“In a region plagued with delay in our criminal justice systems and plagued with rising crime statistics, this was a necessary intervention. The resulting declaration is a useful reference point as courts continue to address matters impacted by delay in one way or another.”
The Caribbean Court of Justice is the final court of appeal for Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and St Lucia.