Recognising the Importance and Value of Caribbean Jurisprudence in the Development of Caribbean Culture and the Stakeholder Experience

Abstract

This article advances a culturally grounded and empirically rigorous critique of the Caribbean’s continued reliance on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as its apex court. It argues that true legal sovereignty in the region requires not just institutional decolonisation, but the cultivation of a jurisprudence that reflects the Caribbean’s pluralistic cultural heritage and contemporary social dynamics. The Caribbean continues to grapple with the legacies of its colonial past, particularly in the structure and functioning of its legal systems. Two interconnected issues exemplify this struggle: the continued reliance on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) as the region's final appellate court and the failure to institutionalise data-driven approaches to law-making, judicial assessment, and policy development. These phenomena reflect a deeper failure to realise full juridical and epistemic independence and perpetuate a justice system disconnected from Caribbean social realities. This article argues that true legal sovereignty in the Caribbean demands not only cultural representation but also measurable accountability—rooted in both epistemic self-determination and empirical legal governance. It proposes a jurisprudential model that is pluralistic, regionally grounded, and technologically modern, advancing a developmental and democratic approach to Caribbean justice. Drawing on Caribbean scholarship, the essay exposes how colonial legal frameworks were never designed to serve the diverse peoples of the Caribbean and calls for the elevation of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as a culturally legitimate and democratically accountable alternative. It further contends that representation alone is insufficient—without robust data governance structures, judicial reform risks becoming symbolic rather than substantive. The article concludes by proposing a blueprint for Caribbean legal transformation that marries cultural authenticity with measurable justice outcomes, positioning the CCJ not only as a symbol of regional autonomy but as a dynamic instrument of developmental jurisprudence.