ST JAMES, Jamaica — In a parting salvo as her time at the helm of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) ended, Prime Minister of the Republic of Barbados Mia Mottley made a fresh appeal, Sunday evening, for regional leaders to make the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) their final appellate court.

She was speaking during the opening ceremony of the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

“Having been the one who was the chair of the preparatory committee for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice, you will forgive me if I now make yet another appeal for the citizens of this region to allow their governments to know that there ought to be a singular purpose for the Caribbean Court of Justice to be truly the last Court of Appeal for the states,” Mottley stated.

“We are aware that there are some countries that have the requirement of referendum. But this, like everything else, ought to be the subject of public education. And if we can so do, then I believe we can finally start to move the needle generationally for us recognising that this ought to be our final court,” she added.

Her appeal came hours after newly installed CCJ president, Justice Winston Anderson, during his swearing-in ceremony at Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort and Spa in St James, expressed hope that during his time leading the institution more Caribbean countries will engage the CCJ as their final appellate court.

Twelve Caribbean countries were part of the start-up of the CCJ, and the institution in its original jurisdiction acts as the final court for all matters arising from the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas which governs the Caricom Single Market and Economy. However, only five countries in the region have so far made the CCJ their final appeal court: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and Saint Lucia.