On March 1st. 2023, the island nation of Saint Lucia (population 179,651) has become the 5th. CARICOM member to engage the Caribbean Court Of Justice (CCJ) as its final appellate jurisdiction.
In September 2022, The Saint Lucian government website said “The Government of Saint Lucia has begun the transition from utilizing the Privy Council to employing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the country’s final court of appeal. Saint Lucia will become the fifth country to make the move after Dominica.”
Belize’s accession to the CCJ as its final appellate jurisdiction came into effect from June 1, 2010, thus replacing the British Privy Council as Belize’s final court of appeal.
Although almost all CARICOM member states are also members of the CCJ,
(Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.)
it is only the appellate jurisdiction for 5 countries. Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Dominica and Saint Lucia. Which means that only certain cases can be brought before the CCJ from entities in member states;
All civil and criminal matters can be appealed in that court by entities from states that it is the final court of appeal.