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KINGSTON, Jamaica, Jul 25 2016 – President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Sir Dennis Byron will deliver this year’s 23rd Annual Churches’ Emancipation Lecture.
The lecture takes place on Sunday, July 31 at the Webster Memorial United Church.
The topic of the public lecture will be: Emancipation and Justice Reform in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
The lecture, which is open to the public, will be presented against the background of the recent Report on the Tivoli Gardens Commission of Enquiry, as well as in the wake of Britain’s recent vote to exit the European Union. It will also be one of the major observances to mark the 178th anniversary of the emancipation of enslaved Africans in Jamaica from chattel slavery under British colonial rule.
The presentation by Sir Dennis Byron will provide a regional context to these developments and will expose participants to an update on regional progress in the adoption of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as an instrument of Caribbean de-colonization. The issue of better and more speedy access to justice by Caribbean nationals is also expected to emerge in the presentation by the CCJ President.
Sir Dennis has been President of the CCJ for close to 5 years, having been sworn in as the Court’s second President in September 2011. He is a former Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and a former President of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Among noteworthy rulings by the CCJ under the leadership of Sir Dennis was the widely reported judgement on the Shanique Myrie case related to freedom of movement in CARICOM. The presence of Sir Dennis in Jamaica as Guest Lecturer will provide an opportunity to renew and advance existing public discussions on the challenges of immigration and trade within CARICOM states under the provisions of the Treaty of Chaguaramas that established the Caribbean regional grouping.
This year’s 23rd Churches Emancipation Lecture is organized by the Emancipation Lecture Committee, with members drawn from a broad group of churches, including Webster Memorial United Church, Bethel Baptist, Boulevard Baptist, Hope United, Meadowbrook United as well as the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI).
Members of the public are encouraged to attend the Lecture which is free of cost and forms part of Jamaica’s Emancipation and Independence celebrations.
