On October 28, 2009, this writer, upon browsing the Kaieteur News of Guyana, was left open-mouthed in astonishment at finding on page 9 of the newspaper, a big bold copy of my last article published on October 27, 2009, by Caribbean Net News entitled ‘Restorative justice: a farfetched idea for the Caribbean?’. read more...

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MIAMI, USA -- The civil trial of the case against Frank Cox and DYC Fishing Ltd of Kingston, Jamaica, brought by Miami, Florida-based Perla Del Caribe Inc will proceed to trial in Miami Civil Court, before Judge Marc Schumacher. The plaintiff, Perla, claims in excess of $1 million dollars due to it in profits. read more...

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BELMOPAN, Belize -- The Belize government has created an office of International Legal Cooperation in order to comply with the country's international obligations, aimed at promoting international co-operation and avoid duplication of work and efforts by attaching responsibility to one office. read more...

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LONDON, England -- Some five years after being convicted for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on Wednesday allowed the appeals of three appellants, Francis Eiley, Ernest Savery and Lenton Polonio, who have always maintained their innocence. read more...

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You will please find attached a letter dated 14 October 2009 addressed to Madam Justice Ianthea Leigertwood-Octave which speaks for itself and, as of this date, has remained unanswered. Copies were forwarded for information to the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. read more...

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Recent years have found the Caribbean embroiled in the challenges of drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, rape, robbery and crimes of all sorts. Gang warfare in Jamaica and Trinidad have resulted in appalling loss of lives, damage to property and devastated the communities involved. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas said on Tuesday the twin-island Federation does not have to hold a referendum to join the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Responding to a question during his weekly radio call in programme “Ask the Prime Minister”... read more...

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The law of contracts can be rather much of a conundrum to the ordinary person, who merely wishes to create a binding agreement for the purpose of enterprise or to safeguard the rights and responsibilities of parties in the ordinary course of living. They are not alone since, admittedly, it can become complex and... read more...

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I write in response to the letters to Caribbean Net News by a “Linda McDowald” and by a “Marcia Wilson” respectively. These letters have unfairly called into question the integrity and impartiality of the Honourable Mr Justice Adrian Saunders as well as of the Caribbean Court of Justice by alleging that the judge was... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, indicated on Tuesday night that the Jamaican government may be contemplating re-evaluating its position on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Golding told the Town Hall Meeting that a number of changes had been made to the Court. read more...

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The failures of CARICOM have become so notorious that talking about them incites more contemptuous laughter than lawyer jokes. And there’s probably no greater monument to these failures than the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which was established in 2001 to replace the Privy Council. read more...

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Recently, the art of mediation was put in the Caribbean spotlight because of the dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association. For those who have no confidence in the system of alternative dispute resolution, the outcome would have given them the opportunity to... read more...

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A recent report by the Kaieteur News newspaper of Saturday, March 14, 2009 carried the caption “21,366 civil matters pending at Dec 2007”, and detailed the difficulties being experienced by the judicial system in dealing with the amount of litigation before it. The report gives some account of the efforts... read more...

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The issue of copyright infringement of written materials, music and performances is seemingly an everyday occurrence in Guyana, of which illegality, notice is taken sporadically by the public when a specific complaint is made by a group, company or an individual seeking to protect their investment. read more...

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ST JOHN’S, Antigua -- Following the recommendation for mediation by the Master of the Court involving a suit in which Leader of the Antigua Labour Party, Lester Bird, and Chairman and Deputy Leader of the party, Gaston Browne, filed a writ against Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer claiming defamation... read more...

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BELMOPAN, Belize -- The government of Belize has received, from the London Court of International Arbitration, an official copy of the “First Partial Award” made by the Arbitral Tribunal in the matter of the Belize Bank Limited v the Government of Belize. The Tribunal has dismissed all the claims of the Belize Bank. read more...

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OCHO RIOS, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has said that the libel laws must not become a firewall that is used for the protection of unprincipled persons. He was addressing the opening of the 40th annual general assembly of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) on Tuesday night. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- The Attorney General of St Kitts and Nevis, Dennis Merchant, on Friday afternoon filed several grounds of appeal following a contempt of court ruling. The Attorney General has asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and orders, including the order of costs on several grounds. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- Eastern Caribbean High Court Judge, Rita Joseph Olivetti will on Monday, begin hearing Constitutional matters related to the recent passage of legislation in the St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly. Justice Olivetti is one of two resident judges in the British Virgin Islands. read more...

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis -- Proceedings at the Commission of Inquiry on Nevis came to a halt on Wednesday, after two witnesses failed to appear to give evidence compounded by an application seeking a temporary injunction against the Commission was filed by former Premier Vance Amory. read more...

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ST THOMAS, USVI -- In a motion filed on Monday in the US Virgin Islands Superior Court, Southland Gaming of the Virgin Islands, Inc. asked the court to dismiss the US Virgin Islands government’s recently-filed lawsuit against it alleging breach of contract and tax issues. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- Resident High Court Judge, Justice Francis Belle has recused himself from sitting on, hearing and or determining in the matter brought by St Kitts and Nevis opposition People’s Action Movement  Member of Parliament, Shawn Richards against the Constituency Boundaries Commission. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (OPM) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding has expressed Jamaica's concern with reports presented at Saturday morning's session of the 30th regular meeting of the conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in Georgetown, Guyana, on the negative impact of the global crisis on the...  read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) -- The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the case of five Cubans serving prison sentences for spying in the United States, effectively upholding their conviction by a lower court. In turning aside the case, the high court effectively upheld a decision by a federal appeals court. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Contempt proceedings brought by Digicel against its telecommunications competitor LIME and two of its top executives were dismissed by Justice Glen Brown in Jamaica’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, 9 June. Justice Brown also ordered Digicel to pay all of the legal costs incurred by LIME. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- A Senior Legal Officer at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, David Fraser, says that all police prosecutors need to be legally trained. Fraser told the Kaieteur News that police prosecutors in Jamaica are legally trained unlike the system in Guyana. read more...

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday suffered a major setback in its legal battle with CL Financial Limited when a judge blocked the bank from accessing information on the group and using it outside of the present case before the court. read more...

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Trinidad and Tobago Appellate Court Judge, Stanley John, has resigned from the judiciary, long before his retirement age of 65. The Guardian newspaper reported that his resignation had nothing to do with last week’s criticism of magistrates during a hearing in the Court of Appeal. read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- Barbados Deputy Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart, who is also the country's Attorney General has announced that the mandatory death sentence will be abolished in Barbados. He made the announcement following a decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The long awaited Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of financial institutions in Jamaica in the 1990s, is now set to get underway, with the roll-out of the Secretariat to the Commission on Tuesday, May 26, in preparation for formal sittings in July. read more...

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ST JOHN’S, Antigua -- The Industrial Court in Antigua and Barbuda issued an order on Friday preventing LIAT pilots from taking any industrial action against the airline. The Order was signed by Philip A. Pilgrim (President), Samuel A. Aymer and Glendina M. McKay - the members of the Industrial Court. read more...

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The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) entered its fifth year on April 12 since it was inaugurated at a lavish ceremony in Port of Spain, which was attended by nearly all the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as well as most legal luminaries in the region. read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- While most Caribbean countries seem hesitant or reluctant to join the Caribbean Court of Justice, Barbados, which is one of the two countries who have joined the Appellate Jurisdiction of the regional court, is seeking parliamentary approval to extend the retirement age of judges. read more...

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: Placing the blame squarely on court stenographers, counsel for Cayman Islands Grand Court judge Priya Levers on Thursday told a three-man judicial inquiry into her professional conduct that the complaints against her were “totally without foundation”. read more...

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If you can’t get a publication or media organization to correct or retract a defamatory or malicious statement, then the only alternative may be litigation. Chances of winning in court depend where you sue and where you live. Courts in the US require the plaintiff, or party libeled, to prove the defendant... read more...

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The tardiness of judges in giving decisions has brought adverse comments from the London Privy Council, the highest court in the Commonwealth as well as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which is the final court for Barbados and Guyana. The Privy Council a few years ago made strong remarks against... read more...

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LONDON, England: Former Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick has moved to the High Court in London seeking an order to prevent the British government from suspending the Constitution of the TCI. Misick, through his English lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald QC, submitted a 48-page skeleton argument. read more...

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- The Privy Council on Tuesday ruled that Trinidad and Tobago's highest national award, the Trinity Cross, breached the constitutional right to equality of non-Christians. Last year, the government replaced it as the highest award with "Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago". read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- The National Assembly in Guyana on Thursday unanimously agreed that the Time Limit for Judicial Decisions Bill, which was tabled by the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Charles Ramson, was long overdue and was born out of a lack of diligence in the Judiciary. read more...

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ROAD TOWN, BVI -- A landmark environmental case in the British Virgin Islands, that was inspired in part by the Save the Guana Cay Reef action in the Bahamas, will be heard in the British Virgin Islands High Court from 27th - 29th April 2009.The case is being fought by the Virgin Islands Environmental Council (VIEC). read more...

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