CARICOM, ‘Hague Conference’ SGs hold fruitful talks; relevant to integration arrangements

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque met on Monday with Mr. Cristophe Bernasconi, Secretary-General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

The Secretaries-General held fruitful discussions on areas of mutual interest and possibilities of formal cooperation, as the Hague Conventions and their implementation are particularly relevant in the context of the integration arrangements under CARICOM, which contemplates cross-border trade and the movement of people across borders.

The CARICOM delegation included Ms Safiya Ali, General Counsel and Ms Charmaine Atkinson-Jordan, Chef de Cabinet. Mr Bernasconi was accompanied by Mr Ignacio Goicoechea the representative of the Hague Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mr Bernasconi and Mr Goicoechea are in Guyana for the regional conference, being hosted by the Hon. Basil Williams, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Guyana in  partnership with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Guyana under the theme International Family Law, Legal Cooperation and Commerce; Promoting Human Rights and Cross-Border Trade in Guyana through the Hague Conventions (13-15 July 2016).

CARICOM Member States are represented at this Conference by Attorneys-General, Ministers of Legal Affairs and the Judiciary as well as members of the legal profession. The Hague Conference administers a number of international conventions which address issues such as jurisdiction of the courts, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in a wide range of areas, from commercial law and banking law to international civil procedure and from child protection to matters of marriage and personal status.