Now in government in an era when the logic of the CCJ is so compelling and under a leadership which should have evolved, the party/government finds itself no longer able to stand on traditional ground. It therefore comes up with the absurd and contrary suggestion of establishing a Jamaican final court of appeal as perhaps a way of saving face. In T&T the position of the present Government is even more untenable because of the history of the efforts to establish the CCJ. Then it was the Panday/UNC regime which was in power and which was a fundamental partner in setting out the infrastructure for the court. Indeed, on its own initiative, the UNC government made the successful bid for the CCJ to be headquartered here in Port-of-Spain. Suddenly, when it lost office, the CCJ became anathema to regional and national development and the region incapable of having the quality of jurists to sustain independence. It even railed against the structure of the court, a pro-cess it helped give birth to. This UNC/People's Partnership Prime Minister, in search of a more believable rationale, has contended that her government has more immediate social and economic issues to deal with.
To be continued
