Introduction
In several Caribbean nations, constitutional amendments are sorely required. The region’s present system of government is based on the Westminster model of government, which originated when the Caribbean was still a colony. A number of the problems with this paradigm, many of which have become increasingly apparent in recent years, are many. The two areas of interest for the constitutional reforms include constitutional monarchy and judiciary system. Thus, the constitution of the Commonwealth Caribbean needs to institute fully independent presidential republics, whereas the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) needs to be replaced by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Constitutional Monarchy: Challenges and Issues
When it comes to the area of constitutional monarchy, adopting the presidential republic system is the prime constitutional reform proposition in order to enable greater sovereignty and autonomy in the Caribbean. The main reason for constitutional reform in the Caribbean is to modernize the region’s governance structures and to remove vestiges of colonialism. Many of the region’s constitutions date back to the 19th century when the islands were colonies of European powers. These outdated constitutions often contain clauses that protect the colonial powers’ interests rather than the Caribbean’s people (Kaczorowska-Ireland & James, 2021). One of the most controversial issues of the Caribbean’s constitutional monarchies is the monarch’s role in the region’s governance. The monarch is the head of state in the region’s constitutional monarchies, but they have little power and are mainly ceremonial figureheads. This has led to calls for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of republican governments in the Caribbean.
Another challenge is that the Caribbean’s constitutional monarchies are criticized for their lack of accountability and transparency. In many of these monarchies, the government is not required to disclose information or hold public hearings on proposed laws. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for the people of the Caribbean to hold their government accountable. In light of these criticisms, there have been calls for constitutional reform in the Caribbean’s monarchies (Watson et al., 2022). These reforms would aim to modernize the region’s governance structures and make them more democratic and accountable to the people of the Caribbean.
As a result of the Caribbean’s constitutional monarchies, there is a severe lack of democracy. In many of the region’s monarchies, the monarch can appoint the prime minister and government members. This system of government is undemocratic and does not give the people of the Caribbean a say in who governs them. Constitutional reform is needed in the Caribbean to modernize the region’s governance structures and to improve the relationships between the different branches of government (Watson et al., 2022). The current governance structures in the Caribbean often need to allow for adequate checks and balances between the other branches of government. This can lead to a situation where one branch of government, such as the executive, can have too much power and control over the others.
Judiciary System: Challenges and Issues
In the case of the current judiciary system, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council needs to be replaced by the Caribbean Court of Justice. The Caribbean often needs to give the people of the Caribbean access to justice, which is hindered by JCPC. It essentially ties all judicial processes and the ultimate authority to the UK’s highest court of appeals (Watson et al., 2022). A Caribbean nation cannot be independent and sovereign if its judicial authority comes from another nation. In many of the region’s judicial systems, the judges are appointed by the government and are not independent. This lack of independence often leads to corruption and abuse of power by the judiciary.
A major challenge with the current judiciary system in the Caribbean is that it is often slow and inefficient. This can often lead to the denial of justice to the people of the Caribbean (Ghany, 2018). The current judiciary system in the Caribbean also often needs to allow for adequate public participation in the judicial process. This issue of the lack of public involvement often leads to decisions that are not in the best interests of the people of the Caribbean. In light of these problems, there is a need for constitutional reform in the Caribbean to improve the region’s judiciary system. These reforms should create an independent judiciary accountable to the Caribbean’s people.
The given constitutional change is necessary to improve the government’s accountability in the Caribbean as well. The current accountability structures in the judiciary system of the Caribbean often do not allow the people of the Caribbean to hold their government accountable. In many of the region’s accountability systems, the highest court is always centered around the UK judges. This lack of regional alignment makes it difficult for the people of the Caribbean to hold their government accountable (Ghany, 2018). Another problem with the current judicial accountability structures in the Caribbean is that they often do not allow for adequate public participation in the oversight process. This lack of public involvement often leads to decisions that are not in the best interests of the people of the Caribbean.
The Proposed Reform: Enhancing Accountability and Good Governance
The reform proposed is that the Commonwealth Caribbean needs to institute fully independent presidential republics, whereas the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council needs to be replaced by the Caribbean Court of Justice. For the first aspect of the reform, the main reason why a presidential republic is superior to a constitutional monarchy is the president. It is important to note that the key difference between a president and a prime minister is the fact that the former is a head of state, whereas the latter is a head of government (Albert et al., 2020). In other words, there cannot be a monarchal influence under the president since the entire state lies under his or her authority. However, a prime minister is limited by the government, only making it compatible with a constitutional monarchy. Essentially, the levers of power of England in its commonwealth nation can still remain intact when it comes to anything unrelated to the government directly. In practice, a monarch can have a major influence on the government despite the theoretical nature of the previous statement.
A constitutional reform from a constitutional monarchy to a presidential republic will mean that the people of the Caribbean will have full ownership and authority over their respective nations. A president is a head of state who is elected by the people rather than an appointed or partly elected prime minister. Presidential authority is far more expansive, and the executive branch of government is completely independent (Watson et al., 2022). Under a presidential republic system, the key problem is not that a president is subservient to other branches of government but rather that he or she can become more powerful than them. Therefore, there can be no monarchical power influencing the executive branch of government.
This brings the need for the second proposed constitutional reform, which is on the judiciary system. A fully sovereign and autonomous state led by a president must have a strong and independent judiciary system to ensure the checks and balances of presidential powers. JCPC’s role under the first proposition is unacceptable and impractical since the highest court of appeals based in the UK cannot dictate or counterbalance a president elected by the Caribbean people. The JCPC does not represent the best interest of the Caribbean people because it is influenced by the UK’s interests (Watson et al., 2022). For example, if a president implements executive orders and seeks to pursue the best interests of the Caribbean state, which goes against the UK’s interest, then JCPC becomes a problem. The latter will be biased towards such a change and will try to limit the president’s actions even though they are constitutional and in the best interests of the people of the Caribbean.
Only the Caribbean Court of Justice can be the highest court of appeals in the region to balance the powers of the president and the legislative branch. All Caribbean states share a great deal of national and international interests, which is not the case for the UK – a European country (Kumarasingham, 2020). In addition, the Caribbean Court of Justice is not subservient to the UK, monarch, or other foreign interests, making it a full representative of the people of the Caribbean. Thus, both the president and CCJ represent the people entirely, which means checks and balances take place.
Thus, the current accountability structures in the Caribbean often need to allow the people of the Caribbean to hold their government accountable. For example, in many of the region’s accountability systems, the government is not required to disclose information or hold public hearings on proposed laws. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for the people of the Caribbean to hold their government accountable. Another problem with the current accountability structures in the Caribbean is that they often need to allow for adequate public participation in the oversight process. Unfortunately, this lack of public involvement often leads to decisions that are not in the best interests of the people of the Caribbean. One of the system modifications envisioned is the creation of a ministry of legal and constitutional issues (Watson et al., 2022). This ministry would be in charge of sweeping constitutional change and leading the nation toward republican status. This ministry seeks to address several urgent problems, including removing outdated legal laws, restrictions on abortion, and the repeal of saving law clauses that call for the abolition of the death penalty. In addition, the government is considering changes to the supreme court of appeal, term limits, election dates, and the electoral process in general.
The Proposed Reform: Three Advantages
The proposed reform is that the Commonwealth Caribbean needs to institute fully independent presidential republics, whereas the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council needs to be replaced by the Caribbean Court of Justice. The first advantage is that it will aim to decentralize power from the monarch. In other words, the Caribbean nations will be their own heads of state (Albert et al., 2020). Since a president is a head of state by default, not a mere head of government as a prime minister, it means no monarchy can exist even ceremonially. A complete executive power detachment is implied if a nation is transferred from a constitutional monarchy to a presidential republic.
The second advantage of the proposed reform will aim to create an independent judiciary accountable to the Caribbean’s people. Unlike JCPC, CCJ has vested interests bound by the Caribbean region only (Albert, 2019). In other words, this reform into action is that it would ultimately lead to better levels of governance and accountability within the government through superior representation. It would implement the desperately needed upgrades to the current system, which is outdated and no longer fulfills its intended purpose. The highest court of appeals will no longer be subservient to the UK, and the court will be representative of the Caribbean region.
The third advantage of the proposed reform is that it will create adequate and regional checks and balances between the president and the judicial branch. Essentially, it will allow for greater public participation in decision-making since the president and CCJ purely represent Caribbean interests. It will aim to create a more democratic and representative electoral system that gives the people of the Caribbean a say in who governs them (Kodilinye, 2021). In a sense, both judicial and presidential institutions will fully represent the people of the Caribbean only. They will mutually control and regulate each other alongside the legislative branch devoid of monarchial or foreign interference. This will bring the Caribbean nations closer to being more autonomous and sovereign, at the same time making these states more democratic.
The Proposed Reform: Three Disadvantages
However, there are key disadvantages to the proposed reform, which need to be illuminated as well. The first major disadvantage is the fact that the presidential system can become authoritarian if the power balance is not established properly. In other words, the idea is thought to have limitations because the change would have to be implemented gradually, and there is no assurance that it would be successful. If the difference is not implemented correctly, there is a chance that it might lead to an increase in both instability and violence (Carrington, 2022). There is a risk of the presidential republics becoming dictatorial regimes with super-presidential frameworks.
The second disadvantage is that it would require creating new constitutional systems that may be complex and difficult to implement. The issue is exacerbated by the fact that both presidential republic systems and CCJ shift need to take place simultaneously. If a president is elected before CCJ is fully established, there is a danger of a power grab leading to the first disadvantage (Kodilinye, 2021). However, if the judicial system is still in the hands of JCPC, then the president will be influenced or challenged by the UK interests denying the primary goal of these changes, which is autonomy.
The third disadvantage is the severity of the changes, which means that a referendum will be necessary in order to implement them. It is stated that “the biggest current impediment to republicanism in many Caribbean countries is the constitutional requirement for a referendum” (Carrington, 2022, para. 10). In other words, the entire process must be organized and initiated in order for changes to take place. In addition, the referendums must be recognized by international organizations, which makes the whole endeavor rather complex and difficult to realize.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the constitution of the Commonwealth Caribbean needs to institute fully independent presidential republics, whereas the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council needs to be replaced by the Caribbean Court of Justice. As a result, the Caribbean constitution needs to be revised urgently. The key challenges and issues include the Caribbean’s constitutional monarchies being criticized for their lack of accountability and transparency and a monarch being the head of state. There is a severe lack of representative democracy since the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is not representative of the region. It essentially ties all judicial processes and the ultimate authority to the UK’s highest court of appeals.
The main reason why a presidential republic is superior to a constitutional monarchy is the president, and there cannot be a monarchal influence under the president since the entire state lies under his or her authority. A constitutional reform from a constitutional monarchy to a presidential republic will mean that the people of the Caribbean will have full ownership and authority over their respective nations. A fully sovereign and autonomous state led by a president must have a strong and independent judiciary system to ensure the checks and balances of presidential powers. Thus, only the Caribbean Court of Justice can be the highest court of appeals in the region to balance the powers of the president and the legislative branch. Implementing this reform will result in better levels of governance and accountability within the government, but the change would have to be introduced gradually, and there is no guarantee that it would be effective. Moreover, if the difference is not executed correctly, it is also likely that both instability and violence might rise.
References
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