Strong, independent courts are critical to Caribbean development, crime reduction and public trust, Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judge Denys Barrow said on Thursday, warning that without confidence in justice systems societies risk a breakdown in law and order.
Justice Barrow was delivering the William G. Demas Memorial Lecture at the Caribbean Development Bank’s 56th annual meeting.
Speaking on the theme Contributions of the Courts to Caribbean Development: The Enduring Importance of Strong Institutions, Justice Barrow argued that development must ultimately be measured by improvements in people’s lives rather than economic targets or infrastructure projects alone.
“It is the development of the community that must be the ultimate focus and beneficiary of our efforts,” he said, adding that projects and growth targets are merely “markers along the path to community development and not ultimate goals”.
He noted that institutions, systems and policies all play a role in improving citizens’ quality of life, including efforts to address the region’s persistent crime problem.
Justice Barrow pointed to the 2023 CARICOM summit in Trinidad and Tobago, where leaders agreed to treat crime and violence as a public health issue rather than solely a law enforcement matter.
“That framework shifted the focus of Caribbean crime policy from solely law enforcement and punishment to preventing violence before it occurs,” he said.
The regional associate justice referenced the region’s homicide rate, which Caribbean leaders have noted is roughly three times the global average, and cited growing concerns over serious crimes including murder, rape, manslaughter, armed robbery and assault.
He also praised the 2023 Needham Point Declaration on Criminal Justice Reform, adopted here at the seventh biennial Law Conference of the Caribbean Court of Justice Academy for Law.
The declaration proposes sweeping reforms aimed at modernising criminal justice systems across the region, addressing issues such as court delays, prison overcrowding and declining public confidence in justice institutions.
One of its most significant recommendations is that regional judicial systems must aim for indictable criminal cases to be tried within one year of charges being laid, while summary offences should be concluded within six months.
During a transition period, the declaration proposes a target of two to three years for indictable matters and 12 months for summary offences.
“Beyond the interests of accused persons, victims, witnesses and family members, society as a collective has an overriding interest in the avoidance of unreasonable delay,” Justice Barrow said.
Reducing delays is critical to strengthening public confidence in the justice system by ensuring “the early acquittal of the innocent, swift justice for the guilty, and the correlation between crime and punishment,” he suggested.
He stressed that timely justice benefits not only those directly involved in cases but society as a whole.
Addressing sentencing, Justice Barrow said courts must continue to balance the competing interests of offenders, victims and the wider public.
“The courts must manage the continuing tension between retribution and rehabilitation,” he said.
As an example, he cited the Campus Trendz case from Barbados that reached the CCJ in which a robbery led to a throwing of Molotov cocktail into the locked store, resulting in the deaths of six young women.
The court upheld six concurrent life sentences imposed on the offender, satisfying society’s need for retribution while also reaffirming the importance of considering rehabilitation alongside other sentencing principles.
Justice Barrow argued that rehabilitation remains particularly important because most violent offenders in the region are young people.
“The existential truth is that our nations cannot simply treat our young men as lost and write them off,” he said.
Caribbean societies invest in their future when legislatures and courts develop laws that maintain rehabilitation as a primary sentencing objective, he suggested.
The CCJ judge also defended the role of courts in ensuring justice is delivered impartially, even in cases that generate strong public emotion.
“The courts exist to provide to society the assurance that, even where popular opinion is outraged, our justice institutions must be trusted to apply the law,” he said.
Justice Barrow said victims’ families, convicted persons and the wider public must all accept that justice is governed by the rule of law rather than personal desires for revenge or leniency.
He warned that development depends on citizens having confidence in public institutions, particularly the courts.
“It is a fundamental proposition and a predicate of our existence that we trust the courts to deliver justice,” he said.
Without that trust, Justice Barrow cautioned, societies risk a breakdown in law and order as people turn to “street justice” instead of established legal processes.
“What is sought to be prevented is the resort to street justice, the unravelling of the bonds of law and order,” he said.
The Port of Spain-based CCJ is the final appeal court for Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and Saint Lucia, which have all replaced the UK Privy Council with the CCJ for final civil and criminal appeals.
In its original jurisdiction, the CCJ is a court of first instance with exclusive authority to interpret and apply the CARICOM treaty, handling disputes between CARICOM member states, between states and the Caribbean Community, and by individuals and companies. Its decisions in both jurisdictions are final.
(SB)
