CCJ responds to allegations made in Trinidad newspaper
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – President of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Winston Anderson, Friday condemned “in the strongest possible terms,” the unauthorised disclosure and publication of confidential material relating to the internal deliberations and confidential correspondence of the Court.
In a statement, Justice Anderson said recent press reports and publications concerning the internal affairs of the CCJ “have understandably caused concern, anxiety and profound sadness, both within the institution and across the region”.
READ: CCJ image at stake
He said “this has been particularly distressing because the Caribbean Court of Justice is far more than a judicial institution. It is the product of decades of blood, sweat and tears, by Caribbean people who believed that our region was capable of establishing and sustaining its own final court.”
The Trinidad and Tobago Sunday Express newspaper last weekend reported that Justice Anderson, who had become the fourth CCJ president on July 6, 2025, had been accused by a majority of his fellow judges of governing the regional court in an “authoritarian” and “dictatorial” manner.
The newspaper said that the complaints range from unilaterally imposing a judicial dress code to allegations of “panel fixing” and attempts to influence the outcome of cases.
The disclosure by the newspaper has led to the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC) stating that it will conduct “a transparent and independent review” of the allegations made against Justice Anderson.
“The commission recognises the seriousness of these matters and the importance of addressing them in a manner that protects public trust and confidence in the court and the broader administration of justice throughout the Caribbean.
“As a result, the RJLSC believes that these concerns are best addressed through the established internal governance mechanisms of the court and the commission, and through a transparent and independent review undertaken in the best interest of the region.”
In a joint statement, the heads of the judiciary of Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago said that the CCJ “occupies a position of profound importance as a regional institution and within the regional judicial architecture”.
The judicial leaders whose countries subscribe to the Original and or Appellate jurisdictions of the CCJ that was established on 16 April 2005, following the signing of its founding agreement on 14 February 2001, said the court is also vested with the power to adjudicate on matters involving the Revised Treaty of Chaguramas that governs the regional integration movement.
In his lengthy statement on Friday, Justice Anderson said that the CCJ, “stands today because of generations of Caribbean men and women who invested their intellect, labour and unwavering belief in the ideal of Caribbean justice”.
He said that “legacy deserves our protection.”
“A number of allegations have been made concerning decisions taken by me in my capacity as president of the Court. I intend, in this statement, to provide context to those matters and to explain the principles upon which those decisions were made”.
He said where “I have been at fault I will own up to my shortcomings” but before doing so doing so, however, I must address what I regard as the most troubling aspect of this entire episode
“I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the unauthorised disclosure and publication of confidential material relating to the internal deliberations and confidential correspondence of the Court.
“Such disclosures and their publication are wholly unacceptable and strike at one of the fundamental principles upon which every independent judiciary depends. It erodes trust in the sanctity of judicial deliberations and judicial collegiality.
“It erodes public trust and confidence in the third branch, and it does untold harm to the people we are sworn to serve and betrays the trust and confidence placed in us. I will now deal with each of the allegations separately,” he concluded.