Caribbean Law

BY Abiola Inniss, LLB.LLM,ACIArb The use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Caribbean is as yet in a fledgling state and there is little information about it in most parts of the region, except for Jamaica which has a considerably developed ADR scheme which focuses on mediation, and there is substantial ignorance about what constitutes Alternative Dispute Resolution. While Jamaica’s Dispute Resolution Foundation has made significant strides in the promotion of peace and reconciliation in various communities as well as in providing useful support to its Justice system, the example has not resounded strongly across the region. Caribbean Justice systems and seekers of justice remain strongly entrenched in the adversarial, combative methods of resolving matters, even with all the attendant difficulties and disappointments which often accompany litigation. It needs to be clear that ADR usually applies to civil matters (person to person non-criminal claims)and that whe...

The Guyana Low Carbon development strategy has been hailed as an innovative mechanism by which developing countries might maintain their forest resources for the mitigation of the global environmental degradation whilst being compensated for their trouble by developed countries. While the plan seems simple enough, and the regulation of this model has been impressively written up and presented as viable. There has not been significant investigation or consideration of the legal regulation of this model with the intention of creating an holistic legal structure which accounts for the domestic and the international legal principles and regimen which will affect it. There is little understanding of the concept of traditional knowledge and Intellectual property , the interplay of the law of international trade and private international law , the domestic law requirements for the internal regulation of the scheme and the rules of global environmental law which will be applicable to...

By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM, ACIArb The Guyana low carbon development strategy has been hailed internationally for its innovative attempt at mitigating the damage inflicted by carbon emissions globally. It is perhaps even laudable that Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo, Champion of the Earth 2010, has sought to vigorously promote the development and adoption of this strategy in Guyana as a sustainable means of livelihood for its citizens. At first glance it has a prima facie appearance of a solid, workable alternative to the traditional means of forestry based productivity, complete with value added products, in addition to which, a few interested developed countries such as Norway have given financial commitments in exchange for carbon credits. Simply put, in exchange for leaving our forests intact as far as possible we are to be given sums of money that will ensure that the ability of our people to earn a living is not reduced. There is some talk of value added products which wi...

By Abiola Inniss LLB,LLM,ACIarb It is hardly debatable that the variations in copyright laws across the Caribbean are the result of the peculiarities of our various jurisdictions compounded by the lack of a regional regulatory scheme. It is also trite knowledge that Caribbean musicians often struggle to obtain adequate protection of their productions and where they do, it is localized within specific countries. This means that while a Jamaican musician may have protected rights in Jamaica, this will not necessarily apply to the same work in Guyana or Antigua, and so on; though section 3 of the Jamaican Copyright Act no 5 of 1993 ,specifies that where a work has been first published in a specified country it shall be an offence in Jamaica to republish it without permission. A January 2010 report of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) revealed that royalties accruing to Caribbean music and Art in 2009 had dipped by 27 percent t...

Applying Alternative Dispute Resolution Within Communities. By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM (Business Law) ACIArb. In 1976 at the Pound Conference of the United States of America Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger as he then was, on the subject of finding a better way declared ” We may well be on our way to a society overrun by hordes of lawyers, hungry as locusts, and brigades of judges in numbers never before contemplated. We have reached the point where our systems of justice—both state and federal—may literally break down before the end of the century .” This was a key point in advocating the use of ADR in the United States which was widely touted at the time as an alternative to the formal system of justice then in place. From the seventies to present there have been many projects implemented all across the United States with varying degrees of success from which valued lessons we may derive some wisdom on the subject of applying ADR in communities. We will also take a look ...

By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM (DeMontfort) ACIArb It is that noteworthy that among its undertakings for its mandate on the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), the Caricom Secretariat undertook the hosting of a seminar on Competition Policy and Law in Georgetown, Guyana on May 3, 2010. The programme outlined topics such as “Caricom Competition Policy in a challenging economic environment”, and “Competition Policy in Caricom”, though if the truth be told, it carried the semblance of a man’s bikini; significant for what it suggested, concealing of that which was crucial. Consumer law and competition policy and law are almost inextricably intertwined at times and so are affected one by the other, it therefore means that any cumulative legal framework must be reflective of this relationship. It seemed that while the importance of this relationship was recognized, the creation of a regulatory framework complete with law harmonization and dispute resolution mec...

While there is much preoccupation with the issues of copyright law in the Caribbean which is centered around trade and commerce, the lesser known issues of traditional knowledge in Intellectual Property are hardly considered to be of especial significance to the majority of policy makers, and except for a few pockets of interest groups such as a group of Rastafarians in Jamaica the average citizen is uninformed on the subject. The importance of traditional knowledge and the preservation of entitlement to retain the rights to commercial and other exploitation are of some importance to Caribbean countries as our histories are quite recent, dating settlement by Europeans and others to the fifteenth century and later, and contain a rich legacy of traditions in many areas which resulted from an amalgamation of various cultures; or which may have remained within the grasp of particular cultural enclaves. The Amerindian nations have histories in the region which predate settlement by other cu...

By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM, ACIArb At almost any time that the issue of Intellectual Property is discussed by peoples of the Caribbean there is considerable confusion and uncertainty to be found about what the law says, what it means and what the rights of usage are. This is not surprising or unexpected since many lawyers are themselves hard put upon to provide pertinent answers to the many arising issues. This is not aided in the least by broad statements on intellectual property such as the definitions given by WIPO which are a general aid to understanding the subject area but which cannot deal with the variations in national laws and which do not explain that with any of the rights described, responsibilities also exist. With the starkness of the non-existence of a regional policy on Intellectual Property and the absence in several countries of comprehensive, modern laws, the situation becomes an interesting mixture of self preservation, individual moral direction (or misdirec...

By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM, ACIArb It is a sore issue in the administration of justice in Guyana that oftentimes laws that have been passed by the National Assembly for the good of the nation are not practically or properly implemented, or simply sit on the shelves in the Parliament Buildings and elsewhere marking time. This is the very situation in which Guyana’s consumer affairs finds itself with the Consumer Protection Act of 2004. This piece of legislation is undoubtedly and commendably one of the more progressive that has been had in recent times since it proposes practical mechanisms for dealing with the issues of the Guyanese consuming public and takes into consideration the practical needs of the business sector in having matters of dispute resolved in a timely cost effective manner; this is an absolute prerequisite for the development and progression of international business in Guyana and certainly one of the important attractions for securing business in foreign countries...

By Abiola Inniss, LLB, LLM, ACIArb The successes or lack of them in the area of Caribbean intellectual property regulation and enforcement have been attributed to or blamed upon many aspects of the management of Caribbean life and, if the truth be told, the lack of an holistic proactive approach by Caricom itself in creating a legal and regulatory framework for intellectual property. It is trite knowledge that most Caribbean countries are bound by the WTO-WIPO arrangement on TRIPS which, though not entirely suitable for Caribbean usage, still has some efficacy in them and can arguably be adapted to suit Caribbean conditions. The issue then is the adaptation of these rules to suit our Caribbean conditions and the creation of a legal and regulatory framework that will work for our region from them. It is with some bemused interest that onlookers note the penchant for patriotic utterances, which are followed by the vigorous flapping of jackets and waving of arms and, inevitably, sile...

By Abiola Inniss, LLB , LLM, ACIarb The use of arbitration across the Caribbean has been largely within the context of Trade Union disputes and is still something of a novelty in resolving commercial and private disputes in the region (see Rose Marie Belle Antoine, Caribbean Law and Legal Systems, Cavendish, London, 1998). It is interesting to note that more than a decade after the publication of the above mentioned text the situation has registered little change. This may be the result of a reluctance to embrace new methods of dispute resolution, but is more likely due to the absence of regional mechanisms which are expressly for the purpose of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and which are promoted at the regional level. The same is true for Guyana, and it is still a mystery that in the face of the difficulties endured in the Guyana legal system with the timely disposal of cases, a mounting backlog, and the tiresome efforts to dispense with the morass, little or no consideration ...

By Abiola Inniss LLB, LLM It is common knowledge that Intellectual Property issues have begun to envelope the Caribbean region at an increasing rate. One can be randomly exposed to discussions on this subject in almost every sphere of Caribbean activity, especially in the market places where the talk ranges from where the product is made, its quality and suitability and most importantly whether it is a copy or fake (in Guyanese the term is ‘caunter’ or ‘kawnter’ according to your taste) as against an original. This is among other things, the result of increasing consumption of goods and services that originate from developed countries and which have strict regulations attached to them under various agreements, alongside goods that come from other developing countries and which are sometimes shamelessly inferior but which are branded as the well known articles. Most Caribbean countries are members of the World Trade Organisation, which has instituted the Agreement on Trade related As...