The Caribbean Court of Justice in Regional Economic Development

• Author: Hon. Mr. Justice Duke Pollard
• Pages: 205-218

205

The CCJ in Regional Economic Development

I. Role of Law in National Economic Development

“ . . . . justice sectors in the Caribbean have been seen historically as

users of resources, rather than as contributors to economic and social

development.” 1

An understanding of the role of the proposed Caribbean Court of Justice

in regional economic development would be greatly facilitated by adopting

as the point of departure an examination of the role of the justice sector, in

particular, and that of the law, generally, in the national economic development

process. For present purposes, law will be defined as the corpus of societal

norms which is established, interpreted, applied and enforced by the central

authorities of the State in order to regulate the conduct of persons, both

natural and juridical, in their normal interface with one another. The central

authorities which are normally involved in the process described are the

legislative assemblies, offices of the solicitors-general, offices of the attorneys-

general, ministers of justice, the courts, directors of public prosecutions,

commissioners of prisons and police, probation officers, legal aid clinics,

associations of public and private law practitioners and other relevant legal

and administrative institutions. Collectively, this assemblage of organisations

and institutions is known as the Justice Sector.

A generally acceptable compendium of factors perceived to influence

structured national, social and economic development will probably include

an impressive body of determinants of a psychological, geopolitical, economic,

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15 The Honourable Mr. Justice Duke Pollard

(Circa 1997)

THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

IN REGIONAL ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT