For more than two decades they have been talking about it. In between there have been some of the most heated, emotional debates involving men in politics and law, whether we really need it.

Today, the nine men and women who will have the responsibility of choosing the CCJ's first panel of judges will begin, shortly after being sworn in, the process, including advertising for candidates, of selecting the first jurists to serve on the regional court.

The intention is for the CCJ - which is to be ceremonially inaugurated in Pot-of-Spain by mid November - to function as the highest court of appeal, both in civil and criminal matters, within the Caribbean Community.

Faced with a mixture of self-contempt, rooted in the region's colonial past, apprehension over its independence from political interference and, for some who simply view it as a likely "hangman's court", the Caribbean Community has managed to finally have in place two vital mechanisms to bring on board its newest and path-breaking institution, the CCJ:

These are the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission and the Board of Trustees of the CCJ Trust Fund.

The Board of Trustees of the CCJ Trust Fund will, in turn, have the challenging responsibility to ensure proper management of the Fund to guarantee the uninterrupted financing required for the independent functioning of the regional court.

The initial major resource of the Fund will be the US$100 million being raised by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on behalf of the member states of CARICOM.

The regional court is to have original jurisdiction in matters pertaining to the functioning of the Caribbean Single Market, as well as final appellate jurisdiction for member countries of the institution, once they have severed links with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.

Independent functioning of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission, whose personnel have been carefully and democratically chosen from among experienced and respected members of the region's legal profession, is expected to be strengthened by the independence also of the CCJ Trust Fund.

There remain opponents of the CCJ replacing the Privy Council as the region's final appeal court. They include the opposition Jamaica Labour Party.

But advocates of the court feel that the region's political directorate have demonstrated admirable foresight in ensuring a degree of insulation from political interference in the CCJ that is unmatched by the United States of America, United Kingdom or Canada - popular reference sources for "democracy" and "justice."

The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Dr. Kenny Anthony, who has lead responsibility among CARICOM heads of government for Governance and Justice, thinks that in the composition of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission and the Board of Trustees for the CCJ Trust Fund, the governments may have created a precedent by the level of responsibility they have abdicated to civil society.

With the exception of the President, the Commission will be responsible for the appointment of all the judges of the CCJ and also have the right to make recommendations to the CARICOM Heads of Government on the appointment of the court's President.

The President is to be selected with the agreement of at least 75 percent of the Community leaders, if not unanimously.

What has been done to ensure independence of the CCJ from political influence, seems to offer an exemplary guide as to what should also obtain in every CARICOM state in the appointment and dismissal of members of the judiciary, according to some regional advocates of constitutional reform. .