Caribbean Court of Justice

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ or CCtJ; Dutch: Caribisch Hof van Justitie; French: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Court of Justice has two jurisdictions: an original jurisdiction and an appellate jurisdiction: In its original jurisdiction, the CCJ interprets and applies the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (which established the Caribbean Community), and is an international court with compulsory and exclusive jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation of the treaty. In its appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ hears appeals as the court of last resort in both civil and criminal matters from those member states which have ceased to allow appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC). As of April 2023, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and St. Lucia have replaced the JCPC's appellate jurisdiction with that of the CCJ. National referendums undertaken in Antigua & Barbuda (2018), and Grenada (2018) resulted in the majorities of those nations rejecting the switch of final court of appeals from the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council to the CCJ. A previous referendum undertaken in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 was also rejected by a majority of voters, although that proposed constitution did not substitute the CCJ for the Privy Council, but rather codified the possibility of doing so via constitutional reform among other proposed changes such as making Saint Vincent and the Grenadines into a republic.