Trinidad to accept CCJ as appellate court

Word is it that the Kamla administration is moving forward with abolishing the privy council and establishing the CCJ as the highest court of appeal for criminal matters.



http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-04-26-000000/out-goes-privy-council

One step closer to regional integration and a good day for both lawyers and citizens- Having appeals to the CCJ instead of the privy council will make a final appeal much more affordable for the average man.
     It will also mean more work for lawyers- more money for me # winning.

 CCJ as final court also means  money saved for the state of trinidad and tobago when prosecuting criminals , they wont have to fly them and a team of lawyers to england for a case.  It will save the government millions.
        Will also make an appeal more accessible for those seeking justice : only 15 or so cases go to the privy council a year out of hundreds at the Court of appeal level and thousands at the high court level.


A very good move by the present administration  - my criticism of them generally as been alot of good talented diluted by alot of idiots + general inexperience. 

I heard a certain member of government was declared persona non grata in brazil... Basically it means he can never set foot in Brazil again . Normal procedure is to sack someone who is stupid enough to achieve that status- but that government minister is still in office. (total douchebag i hear too).



http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-04-26/panday-calls-ccj-referendum-handle-people%E2%80%99s-freedom-properly-says-former-pm

Panday is calling for a referendum before the CCJ is implemented - a rational call as the Court system is fundamental in a democracy and highly entrenched and protected. However the 'lack of trust' in the CCJ is nonsense - Those who do not trust the CCJ do not understand the CCJ - i have yet to meet someone who has read on the issue and still wants to retain the privy council.

And one must reiterate that it is only for Criminal appeals - Constitutional rights will still be handled by the privy council and so will Civil cases for now. So the (constitutional) rights of the people are safe and the money spent on a large scale ' referendum' may be unfounded. 
      Constitutional rights issues sometimes arise out of a criminal trial -and those will be handled by the Privy council for now. Thus if there is an issue of bias or unfairness or inequality before the law someone can appeal from the CCJ to the Privy council (though it will be a one in a million case) for justice.
        
      Anyone who has read the Joseph and Boyce CCJ judgement and contrasted it Privy Council judgements will see - the CCJ can indeed produce BETTER law than the Privy council given the chance.   The currant president of the CCJ is also a member of the privy council as well.

It may just be a case of caribbean people not trusting their own  -   They think the white man's system is better instinctively . And they are wrong.

ADDENDUM : MY old lecturer Douglas Mendes agrees with me on the quality of the CCJ's judgements :
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-04-26/senior-counsel-supports-decision-mendes-tt-now-fully-independent

There is no doubt that the Privy Council is a first-class international tribunal. But so is the CCJ.” Asked if the CCJ, inaugurated in Port-of-Spain on April 16, 2005, had delivered enough judgments to enable such a diagnosis, Mendes said, “Quite a few judgments were delivered and I’ve read most of them.

“I agreed with some and disagreed with some. But that’s my personal opinion. “The quality of the judgments was quite high.”

Mendes has been one of my role models for the last 4 years - nothing short of a legal demigod.