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Background and Structure
Background OCCBA is the successor of an organisation known as the West Indies Bar Association which was established in 1957 in Barbados after a conference in Trinidad in 1952. As far as can presently be determined, there were meetings in Barbados on the 27th April, 1968, in St Lucia on the 22nd September, 1971, in Grenada on the 13th September, 1975, in Jamaica on the 4th March, 1976, in Jamaica on the 6th September, 1986, and subsequently in Barbados. OCCBA Governance OCCBA is governed by a Council of which each Bar Association has two members. Its day to day functioning is carried out by its Executive which has all of the powers necessary to carry out the decisions of the council and to undertake the administration of the organisation in accordance with its Constitution. The powers of the various organs of the OCCBA are set out in it constitution. OCCBA EXECUTIVE OVER THE YEARS Since the establishment of the organisation in 1957 the organisation has had the benefit of leadership in its executive body of many outstanding jurists from throughout the Caribbean region. A list of Executive members from the year 1962 is hereafter set out:
OCCBA’S AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Aims and Objectives OCCBA’s aims and objects include being concerned with questions of human rights, justice and the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the improvement of the administration of justice, legal education, the study of jurisprudence, legal literature and law reporting, and the establishment of legal aid systems. The declared aims and objects of OCCBA are as follows:
It is also OCCBA’s goal to provide services and programmes which improve professional development, the quality of the bar, the administration of justice and access to legal services, including: continuing professional education; discipline; funding for pro bono constitutional cases; Case law reporting; Law reform; Caribbean Court of Justice; Email address; Listserv; Newsletters; Lawyer referral system; Web site; Database; Legal aid; Independence of the Judiciary; Playing political football with Judges; contractual appointments of magistrates; finance; access of foreign legal practitioners; a permanent OCCBA headquarters; and directory of lawyers. OCCBA Projects OCCBA is currently undertaking a number of major projects aimed at realising its aims and objectives. The following is an outline of one of the main projects. The OCCBA Access to Justice and Information Technology Project Many jurisdictions in the Commonwealth Caribbean do not have legal aid schemes. Other jurisdictions, such as Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, have legal aid schemes that do not extend to civil matters in the Magistrates' Court. In consequence of the need to assist the poor, OCCBA has commenced a special project, called the Access to Justice and Information Technology Project. The aims of this project are to inform the public of their rights, to increase the number of lawyers in the region assisting the poor on a pro bono basis, to make it less onerous on those lawyers who assist pro bono in organised programs, to better organise the administration of pro bono service, and to support, network and encourage legal aid clinics. OCCBA’s plan is simple. Information Technology will make it easier for lawyers to assist. When the basic application precedents from each jurisdiction are on line, and available to our members, an application that would have taken four hours to prepare and complete, will only take one hour. We recognise that more lawyers are willing to give one hour rather than four hours. The database will contain edited and indexed precedents and case reports donated by OCCBA members, and those created under the supervision of the Project Committee. Precedents will include case notes from Magistrate Courts and, initially, application/affidavit forms for common poverty law and family law matters. (These topics can be expanded as the project matures.) Many other services will be provided, including databases for the administration of a virtual legal aid office. This will greatly reduce the burden on our members who serve in legal aid clinics and bar referral services. Each Bar Association will be given a Webpage, and all lawyers who assist the poor pro bono will be recognised for their services. Also, public legal education will feature highly in the web pages, and IT will facilitate the sharing of templates for printed educational pamphlets. IT will facilitate topic-specific on line discussion groups as well. The key to the success of this project is a well equipped and well funded institutional partner who can host the project and supply the infrastructure. Success also depends on funding from sponsors. Funding is needed for hardware and software, Internet access and the creation, editing and indexing of precedents, and the writing of educational materials. Institutional Partner Nova Southeastern University School of Law was selected as the best suited institution to serve as the institutional partner for this project. It is the 'number one wired' law school in America, and it is one of three Florida institutions that have joined together in a Caribbean Law Initiative. OCCBA and The Caribbean Court of Justice OCCBA has focused a lot of attention on the issue of the creation and establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice. In point of fact its involvement in the establishment of the Court is significant. Under Article V of the agreement establishing the Court, OCCBA along with the OECS bar was required to jointly nominate two persons to sit on the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission, responsible for the appointment of Judges for the Court. In July 2003, OCCBA along with the OECS bar jointly nominated Dr Lloyd Barnett and Mr Othneil Sylvester QC, for membership on Commission. They have since been appointed as such. In addition, under the agreement the President of OCCBA is afforded the privilege of membership on the board of trustees for the trust fund of the court. OCCBA’s FUTURE PLANS FUTURE GOALS 1: MEMBERSHIP To achieve and maintain active membership in the Organisation of the Caribbean Commonwealth Bar Associations of all regional bar associations and attorneys
• Determine, prioritise, and implement a programme of meetings, events
and services that are of most value to members; 2: SERVICES AND PROGRAMMES
To provide services and programmes which improve professional
development, the quality of the bar, and the administration of justice.
3: COMMUNICATION
4: LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT |
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