Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has not yet received a formal request from CARICOM to provide an advisory opinion on the reappointment of Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett.

The Court is confirming that it is still awaiting particulars from the regional grouping on its decision to refer Dr. Barnett’s reappointment to the regional appellate court following Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T’s) objections to the process used in Barnett’s reappointment. While the CCJ is not yet in receipt of any official request for an Advisory Opinion from CARICOM, it takes note of the information in the public domain that such a request may be forthcoming.

The Court stated that advisory opinions will ordinarily be issued no later than six months after the hearing and that the CCJ may hear matters under an expedited procedure. The CCJ explains that requests for opinions do not involve adversarial or contentious proceedings, noting, “the Court’s remit is to entertain submissions from interested parties and furnish a legal opinion to answer question(s) in the request.”

Procedure for advisory opinions 

On the procedure for advisory opinions, the CCJ stated that within 14 days of receiving a request, the Court’s Registrar shall serve copies of the request on all member states and Caricom’s Secretary General. Any entity served shall be entitled to make written submissions to the CCJ within 42 days of being served.

The Registrar shall send copies of all written submissions received to all member states and the Secretary General. After the deadline for submissions expires, the CCJ shall give directions for the further conduct of the matter.

Advisory opinions from the regional appellate court are usually issued no later than six months after the matter is heard. CARICOM leaders agreed to the request to refer the matter to the CCJ at their July 5, 2026 conference in St Lucia.

Regional leaders agreed that the status quo regarding Barnett’s reappointment would remain “unless and until” CARICOM considers the CCJ’s opinion. T&T’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar objected to the reappointment process undertaken by regional leaders during their February conference in St Kitts and Nevis.  

They agreed that Dr Barnett would be reappointed for another five-year term from August, but Persad-Bissessar left the St Kitts meeting before the reappointment discussions, arguing the process was ultra vires CARICOM’s Treaty.

Regional leaders subsequently held two virtual meetings on the matter; Persad-Bissessar was invited but did not attend. At the final meeting on May 8, 2026, leaders agreed not to restart the reappointment process.

Just before the St Lucia summit, T&T Professor Rajendra Ramlogan presented a legal opinion stating that CARICOM’s St Kitts decision was “constitutionally flawed”. He proposed that the matter be examined by the CCJ.