Fifty law students from the region will participate in the upcoming 7th Biennial Law Conference of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Academy for Law as a result of a USD 50,000 grant provided by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the staging of the event scheduled for October 18-20, 2023, at the Hilton Hotel in Barbados.

The CDB funding will go toward covering the cost of registration, and participation for the students who are currently pursuing legal studies at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, and the Barbados Community College’s Faculties of Law and Social Sciences. The Bank’s contribution will also underwrite the cost of facilitators for the Conference, and a hybrid (in-person and virtual) Town Hall meeting to be held on October 18 at the Hilton Hotel.

The CCJ Academy for Law’s Biennial Law Conference offers thought-leaders in the legal profession a platform to present their ideas to attorneys, law and sociology students, and civil society on various themes concerning the reform and modernisation of Caribbean legal systems and the wider society. 

The Conference is intended to conduct a close interrogation of the criminal justice system and propose concrete and implementable solutions based upon discussions inter alia, around the Impact on the Victims of Crime; the Accused and Criminal Justice; Crime and Socio-economic Development and Sentencing.

The CDB will also make two presentations at the Conference. Elbert Ellis, Senior Operations Officer, Social Analyst in the Projects Department will make a presentation on Crime and Socioeconomic Development. Amilcar Sanatan, Adviser to CDB Future Leaders Network (FLN) will make a presentation on Intersectionality, Crime and Criminal Justice.

Martin Baptiste, Division Chief, Social Sector Division at the CDB, noted that a multifaceted approach to criminal justice reform is imperative.

“Criminal justice reform is a critical component of citizen security and as such, must take account of the multifaceted and intersectional nature and causes of crime and violence and their impact on the region’s sustainable development,” said Mr. Baptiste.

Honourable Justice Winston Anderson, Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Chairman of the CCJ Academy for Law, noted that normalising serious crimes in the region had led to stunted economic growth that needs to be addressed.

“There is an alarming pandemic of serious crimes in the region.  In accepting this state of affairs, we have normalised the intolerable and stunted economic development. If the Caribbean is to truly achieve sustainable economic and social development, then the issue of crime and criminality in the region cannot be tolerated and must be addressed. This can only be done using a multi-pronged approach, one such approach being the reform of the criminal justice system,” Justice Anderson said.

The CDB previously supported the CCJ’s capacity development as part of a governance and institutional development programme.