Jamaican jurist sworn in as new CCJ judge

Kingston – President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Adrian Saunders, Tuesday welcomed Jamaican-born jurist, Dr Chantal Ononaiwu as the newest judge to the Trinidad-based final court of the region extolling her experience and suggesting that the Caribbean “would benefit even more greatly from her tenure on the Court”.

Ononaiwu, the second Jamaican national to join the CCJ that was established in 2001 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court, was sworn in at a ceremony conducted by the Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, at King’s House here.

Saunders said that the agreement establishing the CCJ requires that at least three judges must possess expertise in international law including international trade law.

“Madame Justice Ononaiwu is not merely an expert in international law, she is more specifically an expert in international trade law and an active practitioner in the field,” Saunders said, adding that she appeared as counsel before the CCJ in many of the court’s seminal cases dealing with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, services and labour across the region.

He said the new judge had experience in adjudicating World Trade Organisation (WTO) international trade disputes.

“The job she previously held involved negotiating international trade issues on behalf of the Caribbean Community. Indeed, she led the coordination of CARICOM’s external trade policy. CARICOM’s undoubted massive loss is the CCJ’s gain, but I venture to suggest that the region would benefit even more greatly from her tenure on the court,” Saunders added.

Ononaiwu was chosen from a pool of 12 applicants by the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), an independent body of 11 individuals responsible for appointing the judges and staff of the court.

Applicants must have either served as a judge for at least five years or have a minimum of 15 years of experience in the practice or teaching of law. Additionally, candidates are evaluated on criteria including high moral character, intellectual and analytical abilities, sound judgment, integrity and an understanding of people and society.

With over 20 years of legal experience, Ononaiwu brings specialist expertise in CARICOM and international law, including international trade law. Her varied legal background includes roles as an adjudicator, litigator, legal advisor and university lecturer.

Ononaiwu also has significant expertise in commercial law, having worked in the international business and financial services sector as the Director of Value Proposition Development at Invest Barbados.

Additionally, she served as Vice-Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Digital Standards Initiative Legal Reform Advisory Board. She has also lectured on international trade and investment law, public international law and criminal law at The University of the West Indies.

Prior to her appointment to the CCJ, she served as Director of External Trade at the CARICOM Secretariat and previously as a trade policy and legal specialist.

“I am honoured to serve as a judge of the region’s highest court. Our Caribbean Court of Justice plays a pivotal role in advancing the rule of law in CARICOM and building Caribbean jurisprudence.

“I will work assiduously with my colleagues in service of the court’s mission to provide accessible, fair and efficient justice for the people and states of the community,” said Ononaiwu.

Her appointment fills the vacancy left by Justice Jacob Wit, one of the first judges appointed to the court, who retired in December 2023 and died in January 2024.

The RJLSC will, in due course, announce the appointment of another Judge and the court’s fourth president, who will succeed Justice Andrew Burgess and Justice Saunders, respectively, upon their retirements in 2025. (CMC)

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