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Port of Spain, Trinidad (May 5th, 2018):- . The Caribbean Academy for Law and Court Administration (CALCA),
the educational arm of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), is embracing an expanded mandate
and has been reconstituted as the CCJ Academy for Law. As a part of this new development, the
Academy has been incorporated as a non-profit entity with its own legal identity. The CCJ Academy
will continue to be chaired by the Honourable Mr. Justice Winston Anderson, a judge of the CCJ.
In late 2016, consultants were engaged to develop recommendations for the restructuring, expansion and
strengthening of CALCA. The measures that are presently being undertaken emanate from those
recommendations. The CCJ Academy is now in the process of rebranding which will include a new
website, new logo and other communication tools. The 5th Biennial Conference will continue as planned,
during the period 13-15 December 2018, in Kingston, Jamaica. For the second time, the Conference will
be hosted in partnership with the General Legal Council of Jamaica (GLC) and the Conference will have
a strategic focus on Caribbean legal practice and procedure, legal issues pertaining to intellectual
property, the modernizing of justice delivery, and much more.
Mr. Justice Anderson stated that “the movement from CALCA to the CCJ Academy of Law is a strategic
pivot to reflect the close relationship with the Court and the greater role that the CCJ Academy can play
in facilitating practical legal training for the legal and judicial profession, and in developing research
responses that are pertinent to the Caribbean context for the benefit of the region.” He stated that the
CCJ Academy will continue to regard its biennial conferences as its flagship event and noted that the
issues being examined during the 5th Biennial Conference should be useful for the judiciary, the legal
profession, law enforcement, government officials, creative industries practitioners, regulators, bankers
and other private sector interests.

Additionally, the CCJ Academy for Law has already begun to increase the number of its activities. Just
last week, on April 27th, the Academy and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean (ECLAC) launched a joint publication in St. Lucia: Ensuring Environmental Access
Rights in the Caribbean: Analysis of Selected Case Law.
The CCJ Academy also hosted a workshop in November 2017 entitled ‘Current Issues in Admiralty
Law’, in association with the Judicial Institute of Trinidad and Tobago (TTJEI), and partnered with the
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for a high-level meeting on laws and non-communicable
diseases on 10 March 2018.
The CCJ Academy is also spearheading the development of the Caribbean Community Administrative
Tribunal (CCAT). CCAT will be an independent institution mandated to resolve employment disputes
between employees and their CARICOM institution employers that enjoy immunity. The Academy also
collaborated with regional public health, academic, and industry interests on the Regional Alcohol
Legislative Reform Project which seeks to address the issue of underage drinking and drunk driving in
our Caribbean societies. Phase one, a review of laws throughout the Caribbean, has already been
completed.
A save the date flyer for the 5th Biennial Conference is currently being circulated. In May, there will be
a new website and contact information for the CCJ Academy for Law. While this is being completed,
enquiries about the upcoming conference can continue to be made by emailing info@calca-ccj.org.
-end