Forum Non Conveniens: the Caribbean and its Response to Xenophobia in American Courts

Abstract

Social jargon of the day embraces the philosophy that the world is now a global village. The use of this expression surprises no one, as in almost every aspect of our lives, we are somehow connected to someone or something which transcends territorial borders. It is in fact the order of the day and the proliferation of transnational issues coming before the courts bears testimony to this. The way in which business is conducted links the local tradesman, company or conglomerate to elements not within his or its jurisdictional purview; the way in which we live our private lives through employment, travel, marriage, or place of birth of our children may make for us connections with a host of other countries not previously contemplated. It is therefore no wonder that at times, serious issues affecting a person's personal rights may fall to be determined by one or another of several courts of law of one or another of several countries which may or may not be the ideal adjudicator of justice. The question obviously raised for determination is what is ideal? Throughout the passage of time, English law, which the Commonwealth Caribbean mainly inherited, has adopted a number of tests through which this ideal adjudicator may be identified. In recent times however, there has been a tendency to reject the established approach and to strike out independently in protest of the constraints imposed by judicial precedent. In Dominica, in relation to transnational causes of action, this was recently done in the form of statutory enactment entitled the Transnational Causes of Action (Product Liability) Act. It is the aim of this paper to examine whether, and if so, to what extent the Act has abolished the doctrine of forum non conveniens as a resource in private international law through which an ideal adjudicator may be located for the determination of transnational disputes, as well as to assess the effectiveness of the Act in dealing with these types of matters.