(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Hon Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize, will shortly propose to his Parliament constitutional amendments towards the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court of that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member State.

The Prime Minister’s announcement Thursday morning at the opening of the Twentieth Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government drew sustained applause from the delegates at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City, Belize.

In his capacity as Chairman of the Community and Lead Head of Government with responsibility for Justice and Governance in the Community’s Quasi Cabinet, Mr. Barrow commended the court as a “critical lynchpin” of the integration movement and was frank in his assessment of the status of Member States regarding membership of the CCJ.

The CCJ, with headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago, has appellate jurisdiction in only two CARICOM Member States, Barbados and Guyana.

“The significance of our apparent unwillingness to replace the Privy Council with our own first class jurists is not lost on our populations. It can’t help but contribute to cynicism about the seriousness of our commitment to Caribbean identity. I can hardly say this just to be a scold, since Belize is, in this matter, a guilty party. I introduce the subject, rather, in order to employ precept and example. I commend the merit of the court as a critical lynchpin of our movement; and I also undertake to propose shortly here at home the constitutional amendment that would allow Belize to sign on to the appellate jurisdiction,” Prime Minister Barrow stated.