CCJ dismisses an application by Cabral Douglas to sue the Government of Dominica for US $3 Million

​The Caribbean Court of Justice has dismissed an application of Cabral Douglas preventing him from suing the Government of Dominica.
 
Douglas, the organizer of a concert in Portsmouth featuring dancehall artist Tommy Lee Sparta, was demanding US$3M in compensation from the Government after Sparta and his entourage were deported from Dominica in February 2014.
 
Speaking with Journalist Carlisle Jno Baptiste, Attorney General Levi Peter said he was quite confident that the Government would have been successful in that matter.

Meanwhile, Cabral Douglas is disappointed that the CCJ dismissed his application to sue the Government of Dominica for cause. He expressed concern over the court’s reasoning & the state of jurisprudence in the Caribbean. He had petitioned the CCJ for US $3 Million, arising from the forced cancellation of a concert which Jamaican artiste Tommy Lee was to have headlined in February 2014.
 
In a press release yesterday Monday 20th February 2017, Douglas said the CCJ decision is yet another setback for regional integration. Douglas, himself is an attorney. He said the CCJ decision is not only “laughable, but it opens the floodgates for litigation, which clearly could not be the intention of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas”.
 
One of his contentions with the CCJ’s ruling is its decision as the signatory to the contract for service; he is barred from proceeding with his case at the CCJ. Douglas added that one does not require a PhD in International Law to see that “this is an appalling decision, motivated by something other than sound legal reasoning”.
 
Douglas wrote, “Quite clearly this is a shameful step backwards for Caribbean jurisprudence…The only good news is that a video recording of the hearing is available on the CCJ’s website, where it is clear for all in the legal fraternity and beyond to see, that we as the Applicant in this matter have in fact satisfied all the requirements of Article 222 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and as stipulated in Article 211, the CCJ has COMPULSORY and EXCLUSIVE jurisdiction to hear the case”.
 
Douglas claimed the decision is “laughable”, and creates commercial uncertainty for investors, particularly those in the service sector. He added “It is fundamentally flawed, and a huge step backwards for Caribbean Jurisprudence, which indeed undermines the objectives of Caribbean integration, as envisaged by great leaders like Cecil E A Rawle, Dr Eric Williams, Forbes Burnham, and Rosie Douglas”.
 
The 18-page decision of the CCJ, which was delivered on Monday 20th February 2017, can be accessed at the following link.
 
 Cabral Douglas v the Commonwealth of Dominica – Confidential Copy