THE WESTMINSTER SYSTEM, RULE OF LAW DEVELOPMENT AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE COMMOWEALTH CARIBBEAN

INTRODUCTION Background Research Questions Methodologies SPECIFIC AREAS COVERED IN PRESENTATION The Death Penalty, Reparations for Slavery, Land Rights

THE DEATH PENALTY The Death Penalty and International Law - Recent worldwide trend towards abolition - Roger Judge v Canada, UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), 13 August 2003 “States need to re-examine their procedures under international law because the ability of States to impose and carry out the death penalty is diminishing as these practices are increasingly viewed to constitute torture.” - United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez The Death Penalty in a Commonwealth Caribbean Context -Conflicts between regional governments and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council regarding death penalty administration - Pratt and Morgan v Attorney General of Jamaica [1993] UKPC 1

REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY Definition of Reparations Economic Impact of Slavery Calls for Reparations at the International Level -UN SR on Torture (2001) -Dakar Report (2001) -UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (2016) The CARICOM Reparations Committee Restorative Justice and Reparations

LAND RIGHTS Treatment of Land Rights at the International Level -No explicit right to land, but implicit indications from the CESCR Reforming Land Tenure Systems in the Commonwealth Caribbean -State based norms vs. Informal Norms (Family Land, ‘Squatting’ by Landless Persons)

CONCLUSION Commonwealth Caribbean states continue to grapple with legacies of their colonial past, primarily due to their constitutional, institutional and legislative frameworks being heavily influenced by British Law at the time of their independence. Following progressive developments at the international level which may influence international law, particularly in the human rights arena, can only auger well for the future democratic development of Commonwealth Caribbean States. THANK YOU