Caribbean leaders seek court opinion to help solve internal dispute
Caribbean leaders agreed Tuesday to ask the Caribbean Court of Justice to weigh in on the disputed reappointment of the secretary-general of their 15-member regional grouping in an effort to defuse a controversy that has been dominating their annual summit.
The decision follows closed-door discussions on Monday after Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar circulated a letter outlining her government’s concerns about the process under which Carla Barnett, the Belizean economist who heads the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, secretariat, was reappointed in February.
In the letter sent to leaders, Persad-Bissessar said the process violated the revised treaty that governs the body, and asked for the matter to be referred to the Caribbean Court of Justice, CCJ, for an advisory opinion. Jamaica joined her in the request, saying in a separate letter that the issue had “become one of public controversy” that should not be ignored.
Announcing the decision, Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, the current chairman of CARICOM, said leaders had agreed to seek the court’s interpretation of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which governs the regional integration movement.
“This is the very purpose for which the CCJ was created — to be a treaty interpretation body,” Pierre said. “The community agreed that this way forward allows for this matter to be resolved in an amicable manner, without prejudice to the ability of the community to conduct its affairs.”
Though Persad-Bissessar wanted Barnett to be retained on a month-to-month basis until the matter is resolved, Pierre said leaders agreed “that the status quo with respect to the re-appointment of the secretary general shall remain unless and until the community” hears from the CCJ.
Persad-Bissessar said she welcomes the decision and believes “this is the best way going forward to resolve issues that we had.”
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness said he too is very pleased that the leaders have decided to “come together and crafted a solution.”
“It’s important that these procedural matters not only be settled by mutual acclimation but also established in a declaration of a court, which then enshrines that in a process going forward,” he said.
The move marks the first time that CARICOM as a bloc has sought the opinion of the CCJ since the tribunal was established in 2001 and began operation four years later. The court has primarily heard trade disputes cases involving free movement of people under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
In other matters on Tuesday, French Guiana became the eighth associate member of CARICOM, joining Martinique, which also recently joined the grouping. Other associate members are the Dutch island of Curaçao, and the five British overseas territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The British islands, with the exception of Anguilla, are trying to become full members of the bloc.
The signing of the agreement on Tuesday with CARICOM by Gabriel Serville, president of the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana, marked the conclusion of a years-long effort by leaders of the mostly English-speaking bloc to expand their association by including other Caribbean islands in the region.
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM.
