The Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers (CAJO) is a Caribbean association of judicial officers. Members include the region's chief justices, judges, magistrates, masters, tribunal members, registrars, executive court administrators and many other judicial officers as defined in the draft constitution of the organization. It counts among its members some of the most prominent Caribbean jurists. [1]
The Caribbean Court of Justice and the Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago were the co-hosts of the inaugural conference.[ when? ]
An initial Steering Committee has been tasked with drafting the constitution of the organization.
CAJO is to be headquartered in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and had its inaugural conference on 25, 26 and 27 June 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad there. Sir Shridath Ramphal delivered the feature address, in which he said it was time for the Privy Council of the United Kingdom to be replaced as the final court of appeal by the Caribbean Court of Justice. [2]
The Government of Barbados (GoB), is a unitary parliamentary republic, where the President of Barbados represents as the head of state and the Prime Minister of Barbados represents as the head of government.
The politics of Trinidad and Tobago function within the framework of a unitary state regulated by a parliamentary democracy modelled on that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from which the country gained its independence in 1962. Under the 1976 republican Constitution, the monarch was replaced as head of state by a President chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Modern Trinidad and Tobago maintains close relations with its Caribbean neighbours and major North American and European trading partners. As the most industrialized and second-largest country in the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago has taken a leading role in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and strongly supports CARICOM economic integration efforts. It also is active in the Summit of the Americas process and supports the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, lobbying other nations for seating the Secretariat in Port of Spain.
The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Caribbean having primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by its four founding members. Its major activities involve coordinating economic policies and development planning; devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction; operating as a regional single market for many of its members ; and handling regional trade disputes. The secretariat headquarters is in Georgetown, Guyana. CARICOM is an official United Nations Observer beneficiary.
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and territories in the Eastern Caribbean. It also performs the role of spreading responsibility and liability in the event of natural disaster.
Karl Terrence Hudson-Phillips, ORTT, QC was an Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago and a judge of the International Criminal Court. He was also lead counsel in the murder trial of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.
The West Indies Federal Labour Party (WIFLP) or Federalists was one of two main Federal parties in the short-lived West Indies Federation, the other being the West Indies Democratic Labour Party (DLP) or Democrats. The party was the first national party of the planned West Indies Federation. In the 1958 West Indies federal elections, the party was victorious, winning 25 of the 45 seats in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation.
The Caribbean Court of Justice is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Religion in Trinidad and Tobago, which is a multi-religious country, is classifiable as follows:
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy, also known as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), is an integrated development strategy envisioned at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which took place in July 1989 in Grand Anse, Grenada. The Grand Anse Declaration had three key Features:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Trinidad and Tobago face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as that of opposite-sex couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Belize face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT citizens. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in Belize in 2016, when the Supreme Court declared Belize's anti-sodomy law unconstitutional. Belize's constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which Belizean courts have interpreted to include sexual orientation.
The Supreme Court of Judicature of Barbados is the highest judicial body in the country of Barbados. It is made up of the High Court and the Court of Appeals.
The Judiciary of Barbados is an independent branch of the Barbadian government, subject only to the Barbadian Constitution. It is headed by the Chief Justice of Barbados. Barbados is a common law jurisdiction, in which precedents from English law and British Commonwealth tradition may be taken into account.
The nation of Trinidad and Tobago has been the leading supporter of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Trinidad and Tobago was one of the four members in 1973 which then along with Barbados, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda moved to establish the organisation that today it known as the Caribbean Community and Common Market. The new organisation because a successor to the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, of which Trinidad and Tobago was a leading member and also a founding member.
The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Queen of Trinidad and Tobago was the head of state from independence in 1962 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1976. The monarch's constitutional roles were delegated to a governor-general, who acted on the advice of government ministers.
The judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago is a branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago that interprets and applies the laws of Trinidad and Tobago, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution.
According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, the supreme law of the nation, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago is the primary legal advisor to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Supreme Court of Judicature for Trinidad and Tobago is the superior court for Trinidad and Tobago. It was established in accordance with the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1962.