PANDAY... says he's willing to speak with Caricom delegation

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- Caribbean Community (Caricom) heads are prepared to discuss with Trinidad and Tobago's opposition leader, Basdeo Panday, his about-face on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in order to have that twin-island republic enter the agreement.

ANTHONY... aware of the possibility of a Caricom mission to Trinidad

Jamaica's Prime Minister P J Patterson, current chairman of Caricom, told the Observer that the prime minister of St Lucia, Dr Kenny Anthony, "stands ready" to undertake such a mission.

Panday's opposition United National Congress (UNC) has withdrawn support for the CCJ in the absence of a commitment, it said, from Prime Minister Patrick Manning's governing People's National Movement (PNM) for overall constitutional reform.

PATTERSON... delighted to learn that Panday willing to meet with Caricom team

Since it tied 18-18 in general elections in December, 2001 with the PNM, Panday's UNC, which has frowned on Trinidad & Tobago president ANR Robinson's decision to name Manning prime minister, has vowed not to support any legislation that requires a qualified majority in the Parliament.

MANNING...was embarrassed by Panday's withdrawal of support for the CCJ

The CCJ, therefore, is one of the issues that has fallen into this political quagmire, despite Panday's declared support for the court when he was prime minister.

Last week, Manning told journalists covering the Caricom Summit in Jamaica that he was embarrassed by the UNC's withdrawal of support for the CCJ and said he had asked Caricom leaders to intervene in the matter to "allow good sense to prevail".

Panday subsequently told the Trinidad Express newspaper in an interview that he "would welcome an opportunity to speak with the leaders of Caricom and tell them what our problems really are in Trinidad and Tobago. I am sure they will appreciate it".

He also said he would ask the Caricom heads to intervene "so that there will be genuine constitutional reform in Trinidad and Tobago".

In his brief statement, Patterson said: "I am delighted to learn that Mr Panday is willing to meet with a team from Caricom to discuss the CCJ.

"The prime minister of St Lucia, Dr Kenny Anthony, who has responsibility for governance and justice in the community, stands ready to visit Trinidad and Tobago to bring Mr Panday up to date on progress towards the inauguration of the CCJ since the signing of the agreement at our Inter-Sessional Meeting three years ago."

Contacted for comment, Prime Minister Anthony said he was aware of the possibility of a Caricom mission on the CCJ to Trinidad and Tobago, but he preferred not to "make any comment at this stage while the matter is being processed".

An official invitation is now expected to be extended by Prime Minister Manning to Prime Minister Anthony, either directly or through Prime Minister Patterson as Caricom chairman, to undertake the CCJ mission to Trinidad and Tobago.

The established practice, as happened in the cases of Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and previously in Trinidad and Tobago, is that Caricom's involvement is done by official invitation from the country concerned.

Port of Spain, the Trinidad and Tobago capital, has been chosen as the headquarters for the CCJ, which is to have original jurisdiction for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and is expected to be ceremonially inaugurated on November 15.

The CCJ is also to replace the Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council as the final appeal court for all the countries entering the agreement.

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