The government of St Lucia has approved the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final court of appeal on Tuesday (February 28) replacing the Privy Council based in London.

This move follows a unanimous vote by all 13 parliamentarians who were present at the time to support the motion to have the Privy Council removed as the country’s final appellate court.

Leslie Mondesir, the attorney general of St Lucia said that St Lucia’s accession to the CCJ brings the country one step closer to attaining full independence.

The Government of St Lucia signalled this move to the government of the United Kingdom in April 2022. This will make St Lucia the fifth Caribbean country to have the Privy Council removed as its final appellate court.

The CCJ is the final court on civil and criminal matters for Barbados, Belize, Dominica and Guyana.