REGRETTABLY, the debate on whether Jamaica should replace the United Kingdom Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has so far, like most issues, been tainted by party politics.
On paper, the CCJ is a good idea. Developing Caribbean jurisprudence is always something to be desired. And we would need the best jurisprudence in the event that the British Government no longer wants to carry the cost of appeal cases from Jamaica.
But an idea doesn't work just because it's good. So many great ideas have gone bad because the people doing the implementation were the wrong ones and the timing was badly off.
I consider myself a staunch regionalist, but I would be in denial if I did not admit that far too many of our politicians are corrupt and meddle too much in national and regional events in order to secure the outcome they desire.
When it is abundantly clear that we have the political maturity that is necessary for a Caribbean Court of Justice to enjoy the same confidence afforded to the UK Privy Council, then it will be time to accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ. That time has not yet come.
Our Caribbean memories are often too short. In 1979, the New Jewel Movement, led by Maurice Bishop in Grenada, ousted the then Government in a bloodless coup. The new regime then replaced the UK Privy Council with a local court. The Grenada Revolution imploded in 1983, highlighted by the killing of Bishop and three of his ministers allegedly by hardliners in the New Jewel Movement.
The United States invaded Grenada to restore democracy and remove what it regarded as a Cuban threat in its backyard. The hardliners were arrested, tried, convicted and locked away. Ironically, these hardliners appealed to the UK Privy Council and had their convictions quashed.
The simple lesson is that we should not trifle with the UK Privy Council until we are sure that we are ready. As a Caribbean people, we will know when we are.
Walter Ensign is a long-time observer of legal developments in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Caribbean Court of Justice: An idea whose time has not yet come
-->
On paper, the CCJ is a good idea. Developing Caribbean jurisprudence is always something to be desired. And we would need the best jurisprudence in the event that the British Government no longer wants to carry the cost of appeal cases from Jamaica.
But an idea doesn't work just because it's good. So many great ideas have gone bad because the people doing the implementation were the wrong ones and the timing was badly off.
I consider myself a staunch regionalist, but I would be in denial if I did not admit that far too many of our politicians are corrupt and meddle too much in national and regional events in order to secure the outcome they desire.
When it is abundantly clear that we have the political maturity that is necessary for a Caribbean Court of Justice to enjoy the same confidence afforded to the UK Privy Council, then it will be time to accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ. That time has not yet come.
Our Caribbean memories are often too short. In 1979, the New Jewel Movement, led by Maurice Bishop in Grenada, ousted the then Government in a bloodless coup. The new regime then replaced the UK Privy Council with a local court. The Grenada Revolution imploded in 1983, highlighted by the killing of Bishop and three of his ministers allegedly by hardliners in the New Jewel Movement.
The United States invaded Grenada to restore democracy and remove what it regarded as a Cuban threat in its backyard. The hardliners were arrested, tried, convicted and locked away. Ironically, these hardliners appealed to the UK Privy Council and had their convictions quashed.
The simple lesson is that we should not trifle with the UK Privy Council until we are sure that we are ready. As a Caribbean people, we will know when we are.
Walter Ensign is a long-time observer of legal developments in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Caribbean Court of Justice: An idea whose time has not yet come
-->