Political Scientist Professor Hamid Ghany says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC effectively staged a “diplomatic coup” in convincing CARICOM leaders to refer the reappointment of Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Speaking during an interview with TTT News on Tuesday, Professor Ghany described the regional leaders’ unanimous decision to support the Prime Minister’s proposal as a significant diplomatic victory, saying it validated Trinidad and Tobago’s concerns over the process used to reappoint Dr Barnett during a retreat at the last CARICOM meeting, where several Heads of Government, including T&T’s Prime Minister, were absent.
“I think a lot of this has to do with the Prime Minister herself. I mean, apart from the fact that Trinidad and Tobago has a long history of being a country in the forefront of CARICOM, this particular issue over the last few months had been played out in the public domain in a manner in which Mrs Persad-Bissessar was vilified for not wanting to adhere to a decision of CARICOM. But she stuck to her guns and she has maintained continuously that the process was flawed and that she has made it very clear that this is not about Dr. Barnett. This is much bigger than Dr. Barnett. This has to do with the integrity and trustworthiness of CARICOM itself. It went to the very heart of CARICOM.”
According to the Political Scientist, the detailed letter sent by the Prime Minister to regional Heads of Government demonstrated extensive research and legal preparation, ultimately convincing leaders to adopt Trinidad and Tobago’s proposal to seek an advisory opinion from the CCJ.
“That letter that she wrote to heads and sent on Friday, just reading it, you see the extensive research that has been undertaken and the fact that the entire CARICOM community at this Heads of Government meeting has agreed to adopt her position on the matter by referring this to the CCJ is in effect a diplomatic coup for the Prime Minister.”
CARICOM has since announced that Dr Barnett’s reappointment process will be suspended pending the outcome of an advisory opinion from the CCJ. The regional body said the move reflects its commitment to good governance, institutional improvement and an amicable resolution of the dispute.
Professor Ghany said the decision also represents an important moment for the CCJ, which will now exercise its original jurisdiction under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to provide legal guidance on a contentious issue affecting the regional organisation.
He cautioned against confusing the court’s original jurisdiction with its appellate jurisdiction.
“This role that the CCJ is playing is provided for in the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Every member of CARICOM belongs to the original jurisdiction of the CCJ. This is not to be mixed up with the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ. The CCJ has two jurisdictions, appellate and original. What is going on here is the use of the original jurisdiction of the CCJ for which the Treaty of Chaguaramas, Revised Treaty, makes provision. The appellate jurisdictions are a completely different matter. That is where countries will replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council with the CCJ as their final court of appeal. That is not to be mixed up in this. There are only five countries that use the CCJ in this appellate aspect. Everyone uses the CCJ in its original jurisdiction, which is what is happening here.”
Professor Ghany described the referral as a constructive solution to an issue that had generated sharp divisions across the region.
“It’ll be up to them how they interrogate this. But I think at the end of the day, we’re going to come away from this with a means by which we can find a resolution to something that was so contentious that many regional, local, and diasporic commentators were actually going as far as to say that if Trinidad and Tobago wanted to leave, it could go its own way. And that kind of commentary from many regional commentators and local commentators, to some extent in tandem with them, and even diasporic commentators also in tandem with them, preaching the same line. A lot of it has to do with their own personal opposition to Kamla Persad-Bissessar as Prime Minister. But I think now even they will have to accept and concede that perhaps the CCJ is perhaps the best resolution to find a way forward to settle this matter.”
Addressing the possibility that the CCJ’s advisory opinion may not be delivered before the expiration of Dr Barnett’s current term in August, Professor Ghany said the Prime Minister’s proposal to retain her on a month-to-month basis is a sensible interim measure.
“So if it is that the decision comes after the end of her tenure as secretary general, the month to month recommendation as a solution, I think, is eminently reasonable because it keeps CARICOM in a stable position and does not provide the region with some kind of instability so that the CCJ can take its time, do all the research and come up with an advisory opinion of which we can all be proud, one way or the other.”