As discussions continue to unfold as to whether Dominica should keep the Privy Council as the final Court of Appeal, Acting Registrar at the High Court, Ossie Walsh says the region has sufficient qualified legal professionals to deal with matters of appeal.
Walsh’s comments came when he addressed a discussion on the Caribbean Court of Justice in Cottage last week.
“Over the years given the fact that we have developed our jurisprudence to the extent that our legal knowledge in the Caribbean has developed tremendously, speaks volumes. We have capable men and women sitting on the bench as Justices be it Stephenson-Brookes or Cottle. We have very good Judges in the region. Do we have people of sufficiently sound legal intellect to deal with matters of appeal at a higher court level? My own opinion is yes we do. Over the years, we certainly have developed a strong competence in that area. We have persons like Hon. Sir Brian Alleyne who has led the way for us from Dominica. He has sat at the pinnacle of a court system in the sub-region. There’s no doubt about it that we have capable persons who can steer the ship at the appellate court level.”
Dominica is currently working on moving its final appellate court from the Privy Council to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The Government of Dominica has since written to the Government of Britain informing them of Dominica’s intention to move from the Privy Council as its final appellate court.
While most of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Countries have joined the Caribbean Court of Justice in its original jurisdiction only Barbados, Guyana and Belize are signatories to the appellate jurisdiction.