St Lucia Judiciary makes the shift to the Caribbean Court of Justice

By Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#St.Lucia, May 10, 2023 – St. Lucia will now replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), as it becomes the fifth Caribbean Community Country (CARICOM) to be a full member of the CCJ.

Justice Adrian Saunders, president of the Trinidad based CCJ said the court notes that the Constitution of St. Lucia Act has been approved by the Governor General and that the country has accepted the court’s Appellate Jurisdiction.

Additionally, Saunders mentioned that Dame Janice Pereira, Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court as well as Diana Thomas Hunte, President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association; have been asked to inform on how prepared the CCJ’s Registry staff is to aid St. Lucia’s court officials, counsel and litigants in using the CCJ’s system, that is the electronic filing and portals for case management to ensure court access.

For years the London based JCPC has acted as the final court of appeal for CARICOM countries which have been argued to have a number of negative, hindering characteristics, which proved to be undesirable for the region, for instance its location and disconnect from the Caribbean context.

The CCJ will provide St. Lucia with more efficient ruling of cases due to more access as a result of location and more independence in the rules applied in conjunction with the Caribbean context.

Saunders expressed that the CCJ is prepared to serve St. Lucia.