During most of next week the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will hold historic sittings here.
These will be the first sittings outside the Trinidad base where it has held all previous sittings.
It is an historic moment of which we should take notice, and the people of this region should absorb the lesson which the general public ought to learn from this very important event.
Many people in and out of the region do not easily see the court system as a part of the political democracy, but it is such a part; for it is the task of the courts to keep the legislature in check when it passes laws which may be found to offend the constitution.
So that as the court makes its way to this country, and begins to hear the Shanique Myrie case, a giant step will be taken which will cement the view that we can be final judges in our own causes, with a capacity to deliver judgments of quality similar to those delivered by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was the immediate predecessor of the CCJ.
This last point is of great importance to the acceptability of the court, for some will always question the credibility of any local court in the region, so long as it is the final court of appeal.
We do not accept the views of these cynics and urge all Caribbean people to fully assume the personal mantle of true independence by accepting that their peers are as capable as any of their British counterparts of dispensing a high quality of justice on par with the best decisions of the English courts.
We applaud unreservedly the decision to stream the proceedings, and we trust that the public will take advantage of this unique opportunity to see and hear the deliberations of the region’s highest Court as it comes to grips with a case that is critical to the integration of the people of the Caribbean community.
It is very pleasing to see that among the distinguished banc of judges are some of the graduates of the regional faculties of law at the University of the West Indies. This augurs well for the future development of the law, for we are now producing lawyers capable of assuming the highest responsibility known to the law.
What is now required is for those regional governments who have not yet become members of the court in its appellate jurisdiction to put the appropriate procedures in place to accept the jurisdiction of the court.
Justice requires accessibility if it is to achieve its fullest potential.
The judges of the court in its short history have demonstrated a clear understanding of the high responsibility which rests upon their shoulders, and the judgments so far handed down reflect the wisdom and maturity which one expects of a final court.
For our part, we concur with the view that at this juncture in our development, the Caribbean Court of Justice has become an historic necessity.