Treaty held up by two
Editorial
LAST WEEK’S Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government took a number of important decisions in the interest of moving the integration process forward. As we learn from the conference Communique, the work on the revision of the Treaty of Chaguaramas has now progressed to the point where the first seven Protocols have now been signed and it is confidently projected that work on the last two should be completed in time to facilitate signature by the Heads later in the year. Those facts speak for themselves. But there is more. The difficulty in the signing of the Protocols had to do with Protocol IV. This is one of the most important Protocols in the revision of the treaty. When one considers that the treaty is being revised to provide for the operation of the Single Market and Economy it will be immediately apparent how important it was to secure agreement on Protocol IV. It was in 1996 that the Heads bound themselves to the creation of a mechanism to ensure that no one member state, in pursuit of its own interest, should run off and negotiate a bilateral agreement with a third state in terms that were prejudicial to the interest of other CARICOM member states. It was the inclusion of this same mechanism in Article V of Protocol IV that caused the delay in the signature of the Protocol. For the very reason that some member states felt that they could not sign the Protocol there was cause for concern as to whether the community was going to be able to move forward. That reason was the issue of sovereignty. There is no way forward for CARICOM or any other integration movement unless member states are prepared to agree to some limitation of sovereignty. Without such limitations, a member state may act in such a way as to make a nullity of the provisions of the treaty. The member states of CARICOM have established a common external tariff to buy a little more time for their economies by affording to themselves some element of protection. That very fundamental act could be undermined if member states were free to go forth and negotiate with third states any agreement they felt like. With the signature of Protocol IV that serious threat to the very existence of CARICOM would now be removed. Protocol IV, which deals with Trade Policy, and Protocol II, which deals with services, the right of establishment and the movement of capital are the two Protocols most critical to the operation of the Single Market and Economy. It is true that the Heads did not sign the agreements relating to the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice - and for good reason. Except for Barbados and Guyana member states generally need to amend their constitutions in order to become members of the court. In some instances the procedures involved are very difficult in that they include referenda. The fact that the document was not signed at the Conference has been a disappointment to some people. But what is important is that the Heads were able to agree on the documents which are necessary for the establishment of the Court. We hope that the constitutional measures and the consequential signatures of these documents will take place in reasonable time.
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