IT is most unfortunate that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ, which was established as an alternative to the British Privy Council, has such a sparse membership after being in existence for nearly five years and one wonders whether some CARICOM territories are really serious and committed to the integration process and the success of the laudable goal of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The CCJ was established as part of the Caribbean integration process which has always been the desire of political leaders since the colonial era, but this process has been a painfully slow one and from all indications does not seem like it would gain momentum in the next few years if one is to take a cue from the fact that so far only Guyana, Barbados and Belize are members of the CCJ.
It is therefore not surprising that President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Compton Bourne expressed disappointment at the paucity of membership of the CCJ and pointed out that the expectation was that all 11 signatories would have acceded to membership in a reasonable time.
Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow, who has lead responsibility among CARICOM Heads for ‘Governance and Justice”, has told President of the CCJ, Michael de la Bastide,  of his own shared concern about the likely “disruption” of the court should a decision be taken to shift its operational base from Trinidad and Tobago.
It is also worrisome that reportedly some sections of the Trinidad and Tobago media are querying some US$33M in government expenditure in relation to the operations of the CCJ.
Dr. Bourne also disclosed: “In February 2003, the CDB approved loans totalling US$100.4 million to 11 CARICOM countries (that agreed to participate in the CCJ) for the purpose of financing their contribution to the CCJ Trust Fund.
“Almost all of the financial resources utilised by the CDB came from international capital market borrowing, specifically approved by the Board of Directors.
“The Bank”, he explained, “undertook this special financing operation in recognition of the CCJ as a critical institutional component of Caribbean integration. Financial support from the USAID, Japan and the European Union would have been similarly involved…”
What is strange is all the CARICOM territories have endorsed the concept of integration and a unified region but requisite practical measures and action are not forthcoming as a result regional goals and objectives are not being achieved in a timely manner. Lethargy seems to have become part of the region’s cultural heritage.
The reality in today’s world, however, is that in order to be able to grapple with the global challenges and difficulties a collective rather than an individual approach is an imperative and that is why the current trend is the formation of blocs across the world. Even the wealthy and less vulnerable countries are moving rapidly in this direction.
Our region is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and adverse economic changes and all our leaders have conceded that only through a collective approach would we be able to successfully overcome the global challenges and difficulties. But time is not on our side and the more we procrastinate in forging the integrated and collective approach the more we are imperiling our future.
We have to develop a culture of translating accepted concepts and decisions into reality and to do so in an expeditious manner. This is not an option but rather an imperative if we are to truly secure the life of our future generations.