Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The CCJ Academy for Law will host the inaugural Eminent Caribbean Jurists Gala and Awards Ceremony on October 7, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad. This event, which will honour the contributions of the region’s distinguished judicial officers and legal professionals to the development of international law, will be the first of its kind in the Caribbean region.
The CCJ Academy for Law is the educational arm of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and was established to, among other things:
“promote the recognition of judges and other legal practitioners who have made a consequential and lasting contribution to Caribbean jurisprudence, and to memorialize that contribution.”
The October 7 special occasion is meant to be the first of a series of annual events to serve this purpose and will see 18 jurists inducted into the Eminent Caribbean Jurists Hall of Fame. Five of these inductees, who represent the most outstanding and long-serving honourees, will be publicly recognized and celebrated with the conferral of life-time awards. These are Sir Shridath Ramphal, (Commonwealth of Nations); Judge Patrick Robinson, (International Court of Justice); Judge Anthony Lucky, (International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea); Ambassador Dr Bertrand Ramcharan, (United Nations Refugee Office); and Professor Duke Pollard, (Caribbean Court of Justice).
Judge Robinson, judge of the International Court of Justice, will deliver the feature lecture, “Independence is a Right, not a Gift: Lessons from Resolution 1514 and the Chagos Advisory Opinion” to an audience of regional government officials and policy-makers, judicial officers, legal professionals, law students and many others.
The event will also feature the formal launch of a book containing samples of the work of these jurists under the title: Eminent Caribbean International Law Jurists: The Rule of International Law in the Caribbean. This publication is intended to provide a lasting resource which will add value to the work of legal practitioners and others. The book will also serve to deepen the understanding of the culture of international justice.
The Academy will host a fundraising dinner at the Hyatt on October 8, the day following the Awards ceremony.
For additional information on the Academy, the event, the Hall of Fame, the publication and the dinner, please contact the Academy via email to contact@ccjacademy.org
About the CCJ Academy for Law
The CCJ Academy for Law’s mandate includes the providing of informative and innovative perspectives on the rules and the roles of law, particularly International Law. Additionally, the Academy provides a platform for examining court administration and encouraging best practices in the judicial administration of justice.
Previously known as the Caribbean Academy for Law and Court Administration (CALCA), the organization was rebranded as the CCJ Academy for Law in February 2019 to emphasize its emanation as the educational arm of the Court.
The key objectives of the CCJ Academy for Law are:
To provide a forum for discussing legal concepts and rules in the areas particularly of, general international law, international trade law, regional integration law, and comparative law.
To provide advanced tutelage in International Law to achieve and maintain a high level of awareness of, and advocacy and passion for, regional integration law and Caribbean jurisprudence.
To instigate and encourage debate on the role and content of the discipline of Comparative Law bearing particularly in mind that the major traditions of the common law and civil law systems are represented in the Member States of CARICOM over which the CCJ exercises appellate and original jurisdiction.
To facilitate training and evaluation and to develop problem-solving capability to enhance all areas of court administration.
To deliver programmes to enhance practical learning in court administration and a deeper understanding of the role of court administration in judicial independence and accountability and in promoting access to justice.
To decrease backlogs in case determinations and enhance access to justice in the judiciaries of the region.
To deliver programmes to enhance practical learning in court administration and a deeper understanding of the role of court administration in judicial independence and accountability and in promoting access to justice.
Using various modes of delivery, the Academy develops, coordinates and facilitates seminars, workshops, exchanges, and special lectures, as the primary vehicles for the achievement of its stated objectives. In this regard, the Academy prepares an annual programme of activities based upon an assessment of need. In executing its mandate CALCA forges linkages with regional and international partners.
For further information on the Academy, please visit its website http://www.ccjacademy.org/
The Eminent Caribbean Jurists Hall of Fame Inductees
