PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Jul 2026, CMC – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) says it has not yet received receipt of any official request for an advisory opinion from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regarding the re-appointment of its Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett.
CARICOM leaders at their summit in St. Lucia earlier this month agreed to seek an advisory opinion from the CCJ after both Trinidad and Tobago had written to them regarding the procedure used in re-appointing Barnett, the first woman to ever hold the post of CARICOM Secretary General.
St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre, who is also the CARICOM chairman, in a prepared statement to reporters said then that the regional leaders had discussed the issue and CARICOM acknowledged that Port of Spain desired to have the issue of the reappointment referred to the Trinidad-based CCJ “to render an advisory opinion”.
He said to facilitate this request, CARICOM leaders had agreed “to commence proceedings to secure such advisory opinion in accordance with Article 212 of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
In a statement posted on its website, the CCJ said it has the compulsory and exclusive jurisdiction to interpret the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the regional integration movement.
“While the Court is not yet in receipt of any official request for an Advisory Opinion from CARICOM, it takes note of the information in the public domain that such a request may be forthcoming,” the CCJ said.
It said that “given the public interest in this issue and in response to general questions already raised by the public, the Court considers it helpful and in the public interest” to indicate that “a request for an Advisory Opinion does not involve either adversarial or contentious proceedings.
“In responding to a request for an Advisory Opinion, the Court’s remit is to entertain submissions from interested parties and furnish a legal opinion to answer the question(s) contained in the request.”
The CCJ said that within 14 days of receipt of a request for an Advisory Opinion, the Registrar of the Court shall serve copies of the request on all member states and the Secretary General of the CARICOM.
“Any entity which has been served shall be entitled to make written submissions to the CCJ within 42 days of being served. The Registrar shall send to all Member States and the Secretary General of the CARICOM a copy of all written submissions that have been received,” it said, noting that “after the expiry of the time specified for the receipt of written submissions, the CCJ shall give directions for the further conduct of the matter.
“In accordance with its internal procedures, an Advisory Opinion will ordinarily be issued no later than six (6) months after the hearing. Further, under its Original Jurisdiction Rules, the CCJ may hear matters under an expedited procedure. The public will be notified in advance of the date of delivery of any Advisory Opinion.”
The CCJ said that it “remains committed to the delivery of accessible, fair, and efficient justice for the people and States of the Caribbean Community”.
The current term of the CCJ is scheduled to come to an end this month and reopens in October.
CMC/pr/ir/2026
