Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ^[*]

“Commission” means the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission established by Article V;

”Conference” means the Conference of Heads of Government of Member States of the Caribbean Community;

”Contracting Party” means an entity referred to in Article II which has satisfied the requirements of membership and in relation to which this Agreement is in force;

”Heads of Government” means the Heads of Government of the Contracting Parties;

”President” means the President of the Court;

”Secretary-General” means the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community;

”Treaty” means the Treaty establishing the Caribbean Community signed at Chaguaramas on 4 July 1973 and any amendments thereto which take effect either provisionally or definitively.

Member States of the Caribbean Community;

any other Caribbean country which is invited by the Conference to become a Party to this Agreement.

The Court is hereby established with:

The decisions of the Court shall be final.

The Seat of the Court shall be in the territory of a Contracting Party as determined by a qualified majority of the Contracting Parties but, as circumstances warrant, the Court may sit in the territory of any other Contracting Party.

The Government of the Contracting Party in whose territory the Seat of the Court is situated shall provide suitable accommodation for the Seat of the Court and the offices of the Commission and shall conclude with the Court and the Commission an Agreement relating to the Seat of the Court and the offices of the Commission.

The Court shall have and use, as occasion may require, a seal having a device or impression with the inscription “The Caribbean Court of Justice”.

Subject to paragraph 2 of this Article, the Judges of the Court shall be the President and not more than nine other Judges of whom at least three shall possess expertise in international law including international trade law.

The number of Judges, excluding the President, may be increased by the Heads of Government, upon the recommendation of the Commission.

The Court shall be duly constituted as set out in Parts II and III and may sit in such number of divisions as may be directed by the President but every Judge of the Court may sit in any division.

The determination of any question before the Court shall be according to the opinion of the majority of the Judges of the Court hearing the case.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Article, the President may appoint one or more judges to determine interlocutory matters.

The President shall be appointed or removed by the qualified majority vote of three-quarters of the Contracting Parties on the recommendation of the Commission.

The Judges of the Court, other than the President, shall be appointed or removed by a majority vote of all of the members of the Commission.

The President shall take precedence over all other Judges of the Court and the seniority of the other Judges of the Court shall be determined in accordance with the dates of their appointment.

The appointment of the President shall be signified by letter under the hand of the Chairman for the time being of the Conference acting on the advice of the Heads of Government and the appointment of any other Judge of the Court shall be signified by letter under the hand of the Chairman of the Commission.

A person shall not be qualified to be appointed to hold or to act in the office of Judge of the Court, unless that person satisfies the criteria mentioned in paragraph 11 and –

In making appointments to the office of Judge, regard shall be had to the following criteria: high moral character, intellectual and analytical ability, sound judgment, integrity, and understanding of people and society.

The Commission may, prior to appointing a Judge of the Court, consult with associations representative of the legal profession and with other bodies and individuals that it considers appropriate in selecting a Judge of the Court.

There is hereby established a Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission which shall consist of the following persons:

Where any person or body required to nominate a candidate for appointment to the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission in accordance with paragraph 1, fails to make such nomination within thirty (30) days of a written request in that behalf, the nomination shall be made jointly by the heads of the judiciaries of the Contracting Parties.

The term of office of members of the Commission, other than the Chairman shall be three years, but such members shall be eligible for re-appointment for another term of office.

The members of the Commission referred to in paragraph 1(b), (c), (d), (f) and (g) shall be appointed by letter under the hand of the President.

If the office of a member of the Commission, other than the Chairman is vacant or the holder thereof is unable to perform the functions of his office, a person may be appointed to perform the functions of that office for the unexpired term of the holder of the office or until the holder resumes office.

Subject to paragraph 13 of this Article, the Commission shall not be:

The Commission may, by directions in writing and subject to such conditions as it thinks fit, delegate any of its powers under paragraph 3(1)(b) and (c) of this Article to any one or more of its members or to the Registrar.

A member of the Commission, other than the Chairman may, by writing under the hand of that member, addressed to the Chairman of the Commission, resign from the Commission.

The Commission shall, no later than 31 March in every year, submit to the Heads of Government, an Annual Report of its work and operations during the previous year.

The Registrar of the Court shall perform the functions of Secretary of the Commission and shall be the chief administrative officer of the Commission.

In the exercise of their functions under this Agreement, the members of the Commission shall neither seek nor receive instructions from any body or person external to the Commission.

A quorum for the transaction of business by the Commission shall consist of not less than six members of the Commission including the Chairman or, where the Deputy Chairman is presiding, the Deputy Chairman.

Subject to this Article, the Commission shall have power to regulate its own procedure.

For the purposes of the first appointment of the President and Commissioners and notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article IV, the members of the Commission appointed pursuant to the Agreement shall make a recommendation for the appointment of the President.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article V:

The Commission shall possess full juridical personality including, in particular, full capacity to contract.

The privileges and immunities to be accorded the Commission and its members in the territories of the Contracting Parties shall be laid down in a Protocol to this Agreement.

The Contracting Parties undertake to make provision to ensure that the proceedings of the Commission shall not be enquired into in any Court.

If the office of President is vacant, or if the President is for any reason unable to perform the functions of that office, then, until some other person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office or, as the case may be, until the President has resumed those functions, they shall be performed by the Judge of the Court who is most senior according to the date of his appointment and he shall be appointed by letter under the hand of the Chairman for the time being of the Conference.

When none of the other Judges is senior by appointment, the functions of President shall be performed by such one of the other Judges of the Court appointed by letter.

An appointment referred to in paragraph 2 shall be made in accordance with the advice of the Heads of Government tendered after consultations with the President and such other persons or bodies of persons as the Heads of Government may think fit.

If one of the Judges of the Court is acting as the President of the Court or if the office of a Judge of the Court, other than the President, is vacant or if such a Judge is for any reason unable to perform the functions of that office, then, until some other person has been appointed to act and has assumed the functions of that office or, as the case may be, until the Judge has resumed those functions, they shall be performed by a person qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Court to be appointed by the Commission by letter under the hand of the Chairman of the Commission.

The person appointed in accordance with paragraph 4 shall continue to perform the functions of the office until a person is appointed to the office and has assumed the functions thereof or, as the case may be, until the holder resumes office.

The office of a Judge of the Court shall not be abolished while there is a substantive holder thereof.

Subject to the provisions of this Article, the President shall hold office for a non-renewable term of seven years or until he attains the age of seventy-two years, whichever is earlier, except that the President shall continue in office, if necessary, for a further period not exceeding three months to enable him to deliver judgment or to do any other thing in relation to any proceedings part-heard by him.

Subject to the provisions of this Article, a Judge of the Court shall hold office until he attains the age of seventy-two years, except that he shall continue in office, if necessary, for a further period not exceeding three months to enable him to deliver judgment or to do any other thing in relation to any proceedings part-heard by him.

A Judge may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his office, whether arising from illness or any other cause or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

If at least three Heads of Government in the case of the President jointly represent to the other Heads of Government, or if the Commission decides in the case of any other Judge, that the question of removing the President or the Judge from office ought to be investigated, then -

The provisions of any law relating to the holding of commissions of inquiry in the Member State of the Caribbean Community where the inquiry is held shall apply as nearly as may be in relation to tribunals appointed under paragraph 6 of this Article or, as the context may require, to the members thereof as they apply in relation to Commissions or Commissioners appointed under that law.

If the question of removing the President or any other Judge of the Court from office has been referred to a tribunal under paragraph 6 of this Article, the Heads of Government in the case of the President, or the Commission, in the case of any other Judge of the Court, may suspend such Judge from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the Heads of Government or the Commission, as the case may be, and shall in any case cease to have effect if the tribunal advises the Heads of Government or the Commission that the Judge ought not to be removed from office.

A Judge of the Court shall not enter upon the duties of that office unless he has taken and subscribed the oath of office as set out in Appendix I to this Agreement.

The oath of office shall be taken and subscribed before the Head of State of any Contracting Party.

The Court, in the exercise of its original jurisdiction, shall be duly constituted if it consists of not less than three judges being an uneven number of judges.

The judges referred to in paragraph 1 shall possess the expertise necessary for the Court to adjudicate the matter.

The deliberations of the Court shall be under the authority and control of a Chairman, who shall be the most senior of the judges appointed by the President.

Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the original jurisdiction of the Court may be exercised by a sole judge appointed by the Chairman.

The decision of a sole judge exercising jurisdiction under paragraph 4 may, on application of a Party aggrieved, be reviewed by a panel comprising not more than five judges.

Subject to the Treaty, the Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and deliver judgment on:

For the purposes of this part, "national courts" includes the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

The Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to deliver advisory opinions concerning the interpretation and application of the Treaty.

Advisory opinions shall be delivered only at the request of Contracting Parties or the Community.

Contracting Parties agree that they recognise as compulsory, ipso facto and without special agreement, the original jurisdiction of the Court provided for in Article XII.

In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the matter shall be determined by decision of the Court.

The Court, in exercising its original jurisdiction under Article XII (b) and (c), shall apply such rules of international law as may be applicable.

The Court may not bring in a finding of non liquet on the ground of silence or obscurity of the law.

The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide a dispute ex aequo et bono if the parties so agree.

Should a Member State, the Community or a person consider that it has a substantial interest of a legal nature which may be affected by a decision of the Court in the exercise of its original jurisdiction, it may apply to the Court to intervene and it shall be for the Court to decide on the application.

Whenever the construction of a convention to which Member States and persons other than those concerned in the case are parties, is in question, the Registrar shall notify all such States and persons forthwith.

Every State or person so notified has the right to intervene in the proceedings; but if the right is exercised, the construction given by the judgment will be equally binding on all parties.

An application for the revision of a judgment of the Court in the exercise of its original jurisdiction may be made only when it is based upon the discovery of some fact of such a nature as to be a decisive factor, which fact was, when the judgment was given, unknown to the Court and to the party claiming revision: provided always that such ignorance was not due to negligence on the part of the applicant.

Proceedings for a revision shall be opened by a judgment of the Court expressly recording the existence of the new fact, recognising that it has such a character as to lay the case open to revision, and declaring the application admissible on this ground.

The Court may require previous compliance with the terms of the judgment before it admits proceedings in revision.

The application for revision shall be made within six months of the discovery of the new fact.

No application for revision may be made after the lapse of five years from the date of the judgment.

Nothing in this Article shall affect the rights of third parties accrued since the delivery of the judgment mentioned in paragraph 1.

The President shall, in consultation with five other Judges of the Court selected by him, establish rules for the exercise of the original jurisdiction of the Court.

Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding sub-paragraph, Rules of Court may be made for all or any of the following purposes-

Each Contracting Party shall, to the maximum extent possible, encourage and facilitate the use of arbitration and other means of alternative dispute resolution for the settlement of international commercial disputes.

To this end, each Contracting Party shall provide appropriate procedures to ensure observance of agreements to arbitrate and for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in such disputes.

The Court has determined in any particular case that the Treaty intended that a right conferred by or under the Treaty on a Contracting Party shall enure to the benefit of such persons directly; and

The persons concerned have established that such persons have been prejudiced in respect of the enjoyment of the benefit mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of this Article; and

The Contracting Party entitled to espouse the claim in proceedings before the Court has:

The Court has found that the interest of justice requires that the persons be allowed to espouse the claim.

In the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, the Court is a superior Court of record with such jurisdiction and powers as are conferred on it by this Agreement or by the Constitution or any other law of a Contracting Party.

Appeals shall lie to the Court from decisions of the Court of Appeal of a Contracting Party as of right in the following cases:

An appeal shall lie to the Court with the leave of the Court of Appeal of a Contracting Party from the decisions of the Court of Appeal in the following cases:

Subject to paragraph 2, an appeal shall lie to the Court with the special leave of the Court from any decision of the Court of Appeal of a Contracting Party in any civil or criminal matter.

Nothing in this Article shall apply to matters in relation to which the decision of the Court of Appeal of a Contracting Party is, at the time of the entry into force of the Agreement pursuant to the Constitution or any other law of that Party, declared to be final.

The Court shall, in relation to any appeal to it in any case, have all the jurisdiction and powers possessed in relation to that case by the Court of Appeal of the Contracting Party from which the appeal was brought.

all authorities of a Contracting Party act in aid of the Court and that any judgment, decree, order or sentence of the Court given in exercise of its jurisdiction shall be enforced by all courts and authorities in any territory of the Contracting Parties as if it were a judgment, decree, order or sentence of a superior court of that Contracting Party;

the Court has power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of any document, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of court that any superior court of a Contracting Party has power to make as respects the area within its jurisdiction.

There shall be a Registrar of the Court, Deputy Registrars and other officials and employees of the Court as the Commission may consider necessary. The holders of those offices shall be paid such salaries and allowances and shall have such other terms and conditions of service as may, from time to time, be determined by the Commission.

With the concurrence of the competent authority of a Contracting Party, the Commission may appoint the Registrar of a superior court in the territory of that Contracting Party to be a Deputy Registrar of the Court.

The Commission may, by directions in writing and subject to such condition as it thinks fit, delegate any of its powers under paragraph 1 to any one or more of its members or to the Registrar of the Court.

For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, “competent authority” means the authority vested with power to make appointments to the office of Registrar of a superior court and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in that office.

The expenses of the Court and of the Commission, including the cost of the maintenance of the Seat of the Court and the remuneration and allowances and other payments referred to in Article XXVII and this Article, shall be borne by the Contracting Parties in such proportions as may be agreed by the Contracting Parties. The assessed contributions to be paid by a Contracting Party shall be charged by law on the Consolidated Fund or public revenues of that Contracting Party.

The salaries and allowances payable to the President and the other Judges of the Court and their other terms and conditions of service shall not be altered to their disadvantage during their tenure of office. For the purposes of this paragraph, in so far as the terms and conditions of service of any Judge of the Court depend upon the option of that Judge, the terms for which that Judge opts shall be taken to be more advantageous to that Judge than any other terms and conditions for which the Judge might have opted.

There shall be paid to members of the Commission, other than the Chairman, the actual travelling expenses and subsistence allowance at such rate per day as the Heads of Government may, from time to time, decide for the purpose of performing official duties as a member of the Commission.

governing the appointment, discipline, termination of employment and other terms and conditions of service and employment for –

prescribing the procedure governing the conduct of disciplinary proceedings;

generally giving effect to this Agreement.

This Agreement may be amended by the Contracting Parties.

Every amendment shall be subject to ratification by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures and shall enter into force one month after the date on which the last Instrument of ratification or accession is deposited with the Secretary-General (hereinafter in this Agreement referred to as “the Depositary”).

Any country to which paragraph (b) of Article II applies may accede to this Agreement and become a Contracting Party on such terms and conditions as the Conference may decide.

Instruments of Accession shall be deposited with the Depositary.

A Contracting Party may withdraw from this Agreement by giving three years’ notice in writing to the Depositary who shall promptly notify the other Contracting Parties accordingly and the withdrawal shall take effect five years after the date on which the notice has been received by the Depositary, unless the Contracting Party before the withdrawal becomes effective notifies the Depositary in writing of the cancellation of its notice of withdrawal.

A Contracting Party that withdraws from this Agreement undertakes to honour any financial or other obligations duly assumed as a Contacting Party; this includes any matter relating to an appeal filed before withdrawal becomes effective.