Jamaican Bar Association (JAMBAR) President Kevin Powell said the swearing-in of Judge Chantal Ononaiwu as the second Jamaican on the bench of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) was a strong signal for the Government to part ways with the Caribbean Justice Committee. United Kingdom Privy Council.

According to Powell, JAMBAR, which has publicly stated its stance on the issue on various occasions, recently met with Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte to reiterate the administration’s view on the issue.

“I think Chantal’s appointment further confirms and strengthens our view that we must participate in the jurisdiction. “He is actually the second Jamaican judge on the CCJ, so I think this is certainly an opportune time for us to look again at re-formalizing our position in relation to the CCJ and joining that jurisdiction,” he said.
Jamaica Observer On Tuesday, minutes after the official swearing-in ceremony at King’s House in St Andrew.

The CCJ took office in April 2005 and has a Principal and Appellate Jurisdiction. In its Original Jurisdiction, it is an international court with exclusive jurisdiction to interpret and apply the rules laid down in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) and to decide disputes arising under that Treaty. Jamaica is a signatory of the court in the Original Jurisdiction but not a signatory in the Appellate Jurisdiction.

In Appellate Jurisdiction, the CCJ is the final court of appeal in criminal and civil matters for countries in the Caribbean that have amended their national constitutions so that the CCJ can fulfill this role.

Currently, only five Caricom States (Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and Saint Lucia) have access to the court in the Appellate Jurisdiction.

The opposition People’s National Party (PNP) and the ruling Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) are deadlocked on the issue. The PNP said it wants both the removal of the British monarch as head of State and the abolition of the Privy Council and the CCJ, the country’s final court, to be handled simultaneously rather than in stages as the Government has done. It was proposed as part of the ongoing Constitutional Reform process.

On Tuesday, Powell said the Constitutional Reform Committee, established in 2023 to provide expert guidance to the Government on the revision of Jamaica’s constitutional arrangements towards becoming a republic, should urgently reconsider its proposal for a phased approach.

“Members of the board of directors of the bar council met with the minister and we set out our position as an association and invited the minister to state the Government’s position on our elevation to the CCJ (in the area of ​​final appeal jurisdiction), so we look forward to the decision. “Their position should be clearly expressed and this is an issue that is on our agenda to be discussed again with the minister,” he said. Observer.

Earlier this month, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes urged lawyers to use their collective power to tip the balance in favor of the CCJ, Jamaica’s court of final appeal.

“What you can do is start using positions of influence that you have to educate people about the court… talk more publicly about the court when you have the opportunity to speak – not anecdotal evidence, but real evidence about the court – so that people know how the court is set up, how it works, how it makes decisions.” understand its mechanism and the quality of its decisions, because at some point the connection has to break,” he said, arguing that the CCJ was “the natural and inevitable endpoint of the West Indian system of legal education.”

In his speech on Tuesday, CCJ President Judge Adrian Saunders praised Judge Ononaiwu’s expertise in international law and more specifically his proficiency in international trade law.

The judge said Ononaiwu was selected from a pool of 12 applicants from countries including the Bahamas, Canada, Suriname, Great Britain, Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago.

“He appeared as counsel before the CCJ in many of the court’s seminal cases relating to the CSME (Caribbean Single Market and Economy). WTO (World Trade Organization) has experience in resolving international trade disputes. His previous work involved negotiating international trade issues on behalf of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). “He indeed oversaw the coordination of Caricom’s foreign trade policy,” he said, adding: “Caricom’s great loss is undoubtedly CCJ’s gain, but I dare to suggest that the region will benefit even more from his tenure in the field.”

Prime Minister Andrew Holness described Judge Ononaiwu’s appointment as “an outstanding achievement”, while saying “his journey is a testament to dedication, resilience and the extraordinary pursuit of excellence”.

“He built a legacy of scholarship and achievement that we celebrate today,” he said.

According to Holness, the successful jurist is “an asset to the judicial environment” and a true source of inspiration.

“Your dedication, service, resilience and commitment to excellence represent the best of our common heritage and remind us of the profound impact that purposeful ambition, determined action and discipline can have on our societies,” the Prime Minister said.

The appointment of Justice Ononaiwu fills the vacancy left by Justice Jacob Wit, one of the first judges appointed to the court, who retired in December 2023 and passed away in January 2024.

With more than 20 years of legal experience, Judge Ononaiwu has a dynamic background that includes roles as arbitrator, litigator, legal advisor and university lecturer. He also has significant expertise in commercial law, having worked in the international trade and financial services sector as director of value proposition development at Invest Barbados. He also served as vice chair of the Legal Reform Advisory Board of the International Chamber of Commerce Digital Standards Initiative.

He has also lectured on international trade and investment law, public international law and criminal law at the University of the West Indies. Prior to his appointment to the CCJ, he served as foreign trade director at the Caricom Secretariat and previously served as a trade policy and legal expert.