Enforcement of Regional Economic Integration in the Caribbean: Treaty Enforcement by the Caribbean Court of Justice and Regimes for Enhanced Co-Operation

Abstract

In the Caribbean two sub-regional integration movements, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), are developing and strengthening their regional economic regimes. CARICOM is assisted by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), a court that serves two distinct roles. Under its appellate jurisdiction the CCJ acts as a final court of appeal; under its original jurisdiction the CCJ acts as an international, treaty-interpreting tribunal. After providing a brief overview of the two Caribbean regional integration movements, the chapter examines the potential of judicial enforcement of treaty rules through the CCJ, particularly in the context of conflicting national legislation. It also scrutinises the practical problems of a closer co-operation regime for CARICOM, in light of recent OECS initiatives, and finishes with concluding observations.