Law Weblog

Role of Privy Council continues to be reduced

Trinidad and Tobago (the twin-island republic) has seen the launch of the Caribbean Court of Justice which will replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which has been the court of last resort for most of the English-speaking Caribbean for 172 years.
In the past five years, the Privy Council has considered only 210 new appeals from the region.
The court will serve the Caribbean. Eleven countries have already agreed to use the court to settle trade disputes, and two of them – Guyana and Barbados – have also agreed to have the CCJ hear civil and criminal appeals. There are just three independent countries in addition to the Caribbean that retain the Privy Council as their court of last resort: the Associated States of New Tuvalu and Kiribati in the South Pacific, and Mauritius.