SINGLE MARKET LEGISLATION PROTECTS SOVEREIGN RIGHTS
(3 February 2006)
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas Establishing the Caribbean Community Including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) sets out the framework for the operation of the Single Market and will undergird the activities of participating Member States.
General Counsel of the Caribbean Community Secretariat, Dr. Winston Anderson, who made this observation, noted that the Revised Treaty was now the most important Agreement which 12 CARICOM countries had signed on to, giving weight to the various regulations that now govern the Single Market.
He said that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which preceded by eight months, the formal launch of the Single Market was an important institution for the benefit of all CARICOM citizens. The General Counsel explained that the provisions set out in the Revised Treaty allowed for CARICOM citizens to appeal cases they consider unfavourably executed in their homeland, as well as seek redress in civil matters using the CCJ in its Original Jurisdiction.
Noting that the Revised Treaty outlined several primary rights of CARICOM nationals, including the Right to seek employment in other Member States, the General Counsel said that this clause applied only to the five categories of Skilled workers identified. These included University Graduates, Media Workers, Artistes, Musicians, and Sports Persons.
Dr Anderson further stated that the Right of access to land which was also another primary right outlined in the Revised Treaty was confined only to CARICOM nationals seeking to provide a service or establish a business in another Member State. “Access but not ownership is granted,” said Dr. Anderson.
He deemed the introduction of the CARICOM Passport as a significant achievement for the Community, and a means of CARICOM citizens exemplifying that they belong to a community of nations similar to the European Union (EU).
On 1 January, the CARICOM Single Market was launched following which the formal signing ceremony took place on 30 January in Kingston, Jamaica. The first Member States to implement the Single Market were Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Six Other member States, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have signed a Letter of Intent to join the Single Market by the end of June 2006.
With respect to the three other Member States, The Bahamas is not yet a part of the Single Market arrangement while Montserrat, a British Dependency, awaits the necessary instrument of entrustment from the United Kingdom government in order to participate. Haiti has not completed its accession to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and is therefore not a participant in the Single Market.
CONTACT:
Carolyn Walcott cwalcott@caricom.org
© 2005 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.
(3 February 2006)
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas Establishing the Caribbean Community Including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) sets out the framework for the operation of the Single Market and will undergird the activities of participating Member States.
General Counsel of the Caribbean Community Secretariat, Dr. Winston Anderson, who made this observation, noted that the Revised Treaty was now the most important Agreement which 12 CARICOM countries had signed on to, giving weight to the various regulations that now govern the Single Market.
He said that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which preceded by eight months, the formal launch of the Single Market was an important institution for the benefit of all CARICOM citizens. The General Counsel explained that the provisions set out in the Revised Treaty allowed for CARICOM citizens to appeal cases they consider unfavourably executed in their homeland, as well as seek redress in civil matters using the CCJ in its Original Jurisdiction.
Noting that the Revised Treaty outlined several primary rights of CARICOM nationals, including the Right to seek employment in other Member States, the General Counsel said that this clause applied only to the five categories of Skilled workers identified. These included University Graduates, Media Workers, Artistes, Musicians, and Sports Persons.
Dr Anderson further stated that the Right of access to land which was also another primary right outlined in the Revised Treaty was confined only to CARICOM nationals seeking to provide a service or establish a business in another Member State. “Access but not ownership is granted,” said Dr. Anderson.
He deemed the introduction of the CARICOM Passport as a significant achievement for the Community, and a means of CARICOM citizens exemplifying that they belong to a community of nations similar to the European Union (EU).
On 1 January, the CARICOM Single Market was launched following which the formal signing ceremony took place on 30 January in Kingston, Jamaica. The first Member States to implement the Single Market were Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Six Other member States, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have signed a Letter of Intent to join the Single Market by the end of June 2006.
With respect to the three other Member States, The Bahamas is not yet a part of the Single Market arrangement while Montserrat, a British Dependency, awaits the necessary instrument of entrustment from the United Kingdom government in order to participate. Haiti has not completed its accession to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and is therefore not a participant in the Single Market.
CONTACT:
Carolyn Walcott cwalcott@caricom.org
© 2005 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.
