• Latest
The Importance Of Making A Proper Will

Are Judges Influenced By Their Upbringing?

6 years ago
UN to Conduct Electoral Needs-Assessment

International Civil Aviation Day 7 December

1 day ago
This Day in History

This Day in History

1 day ago
RGPF retirees encouraged to continue serving their communities

RGPF retirees encouraged to continue serving their communities

2 days ago
HERO in Grenada

HERO in Grenada

2 days ago
Shaneaka Gibbs: For the Love of Dance Part 2 

Shaneaka Gibbs: For the Love of Dance Part 2 

2 days ago
Climate change and resilience to be factored into Country Poverty Assessment

Caribbean Development Bank continues to support regional entrepreneurs

2 days ago
Property Tax 2015

Taxes due for December 2019

2 days ago
Draft Social Compact Online

BOLT – An initiative to restore old government facilities

2 days ago
Call for Caricom countries to embrace Impact Justice Project model legislation

Call for Caricom countries to embrace Impact Justice Project model legislation

3 days ago
World Soil Day 5 December

World Soil Day 5 December

3 days ago
Group wants cheaper airfares in the Caribbean

Group wants cheaper airfares in the Caribbean

3 days ago
Grenadian soldier in Colchester wins mistaken identity racism case

Grenadian soldier in Colchester wins mistaken identity racism case

3 days ago
NOW Grenada

Article Footer 468x60

  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
      • Youth
    • Feature
      • All
      • Today in History
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture
      • Business
      • Crime
      • Education
      • Environment
      • History
      • Technology
      • Tourism
      • Weather
    • Law
    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Arts & Culture
      • Health
    • Politics
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisement
      • Notice
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
  • Commentary
  • Vacancies
  • Video
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
      • Youth
    • Feature
      • All
      • Today in History
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture
      • Business
      • Crime
      • Education
      • Environment
      • History
      • Technology
      • Tourism
      • Weather
    • Law
    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Arts & Culture
      • Health
    • Politics
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisement
      • Notice
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
  • Commentary
  • Vacancies
  • Video
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
NOW Grenada
No Result
View All Result

Article Header

Are Judges Influenced By Their Upbringing?

This story was posted 6 years ago
28 May 2014
in Commentary
4 min read
The Importance Of Making A Proper Will

Sir Lawrence A Joseph

Share

By Dr Lawrence A Joseph

Can The Decisions Of Judges Be Influenced By The Upbringing Of The Judges Themselves? A most significant point was raised by a member of the delegation from the Caribbean Court of Justice whilst this delegation was recently visiting Grenada.

The point was made that one of the advantages of having the CCJ as the final court of appeal for Caricom countries, is that the judges in that court would be more acquainted with the local conditions in the region amidst which certain legal issues may arise. As a consequence, these judges would be more equipped to deal with these issues better than judges in the Privy Council who would inevitably be far removed from these local conditions.

A case in point is the case of Cable and Wireless (Dominica) Ltd v Marpin Telecom and Broadcasting Co Ltd. The main issue in that case was whether an exclusive licence which was obtained by Cable and Wireless to provide national and international telecommunications services in, to and from Dominica infringed that country’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of communication. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled that the monopoly which was granted to Cable and Wireless was unconstitutional.

However, following an appeal to the Privy Council by Cable and Wireless, that body delivered its judgment on 30 October 2000 setting aside the decisions of the local courts in Dominica and ruling in favour of Cable and Wireless. In such a situation, one may well be justified in wondering whether the upbringing of those British judges on the Privy Council did have some measure of influence on their decision which favoured a British conglomerate, Cable and Wireless. In fact whilst they agreed with the general principle that Cable and Wireless’s monopoly infringed the constitutional rights of Dominicans, they utilised a microscopic element in the case in order to distinguish it from other cases. They surmised that the judges in the lower courts did not give sufficient weight to the extra financial burden which was placed on Cable and Wireless as a consequence of the challenging terrain of the island of Dominica when they took the decision to invest there.

One is therefore left to further wonder whether the final outcome of that case would have been different had the final court of appeal been the CCJ. In Grenada a similar case based upon the monopoly status of the Grenada Electricity Services Ltd (Grenlec) may well be in line to be determined by the courts. Grenlec does have the monopoly to generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity throughout the state of Grenada. As a result of this monopoly and despite the continuously rising cost of electricity, potential investors are being prevented by Grenlec from utilising “renewable energy technology” (RET) such as wind farms and photovoltaic systems for solar energy. It is contended by this author that this monopoly infringes on the constitutional rights of Grenadians.

From all appearances, if and when the issue reaches the courts, the judges of the CCJ would be in a much better position to render the final resolution to the present impasse. Various writers all over the world have alluded to the fact that upbringing may well have an influence on the way judges give their decisions. A most distinguished former American judge, Benjamin Cardozo, in a 1921 publication, discussed the judicial process and illustrated how custom, tradition, history, sociology and ethics inter alia, can play important roles in judicial reasoning. He emphasised however that judges do not deliberately set aside existing rules at pleasure; however he is convinced that when they are called upon to say how far existing rules are to be extended or restricted, judges often let the welfare of society fix the path, direction and distance.

Commenting on the Madzimbamuto case in Rhodesia in 1968 following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence there by Ian Smith, eminent writer, Clair Palley commented: “It is today generally acknowledged that judges like other mortals cannot escape their own philosophies and will, when reasons are nicely balanced, (they) reach a decision that will be consonant with their own beliefs, even though genuinely attempting to set aside their own standards of values and to ascertain in an objective spirit what ordering of the life of the community will be in the circumstances before the court best accord with the law.”

The statement therefore which was made by one of the delegates of the CCJ mission to Grenada seems to be well placed. It is therefore up to Grenadians to give serious consideration to supporting the drive for Grenada to accede to the Appellate Jurisdiction of the CCJ.

NOW Grenada is not responsible for the opinions, statements or media content presented by contributors. In case of abuse, click here to report.

Tags: britishcable and wirelessccjconglomeratecourtgrenlecjudgeprivy council
Next Post
Grenadian Engineer Donates $76,000 To Schools

Grenadian Engineer Donates $76,000 To Schools

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.










Home Sidebar NP 300x250

 
 

© NOW Grenada. All Rights Reserved – Powered by aqua.gd | Privacy Policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
      • Youth
    • Feature
      • All
      • Today in History
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture
      • Business
      • Crime
      • Education
      • Environment
      • History
      • Technology
      • Tourism
      • Weather
    • Law
    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Arts & Culture
      • Health
    • Politics
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisement
      • Notice
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
  • Commentary
  • Vacancies
  • Video
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

© NOW Grenada. All Rights Reserved – Powered by aqua.gd | Privacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.ACCEPTREJECTPrivacy policy
Revoke cookies