Dear Editor,
It must be a matter of deep concern when leading members of the current APNU+AFC administration begin to question the validity of the rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
The CCJ, as we all know, was set up to replace the Privy Council in an attempt to assert our independence and sovereignty both as a region and as independent member states.
Indeed, the CCJ and the Carib-bean Examinations Council rank among the two most successful regional institutions that have, in one way or the other, impacted the lives of our Caribbean citizens in deeply profound ways.
This is why any attempt to cast aspersions on the CCJ by members of the current administration including, the Foreign Minister and the Minister of State is not only disingenuous but also disturbing from the standpoint of regional integration.
Guyana, as we know, is one of the four signatories to the Treaty of Chaguaramas which established the Caribbean Community. The treaty was signed on July 4, 1973 by Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, the headquarters of which is located in Georgetown, Guyana.
The CCJ was set up in February 2001 with overriding jurisprudential powers. The issue of regional sovereignty, as embodied and codified in the CCJ, is organically inseparable and forms an integral component of the national sovereignty of subscribing member states.
It is in the above context that statements made by senior government functionaries regarding infringements on our ‘national sovereignty’ by a regional institution, at a fundamental level, could be seen as a departure from the vision of our founding leaders of the regional integration movement of which Guyana played a leading role.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
