• Commonwealth:
• News:
• News Archive Search:
• Caribbean prosecutors to form regional association

Caribbean prosecutors to form regional association

5 February 2008

Forthcoming conference in Jamaica will explore the potential for exchange programmes and work placements within the Commonwealth

A conference that is intended to enhance the effectiveness of prosecutors in the Caribbean region is due to take place in Jamaica from 22 to 23 February 2008.

About 18 Directors of Public Prosecutions and Senior Prosecutors from Caribbean countries will attend the conference in the Jamaican capital, Kingston.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Jamaica, in partnership with Commonwealth Secretariat’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division (LCAD), is organising the event.

This conference follows a seminar held in Barbados in February 2005 for Directors of Public Prosecutions and Senior Prosecutors from the region, in which participants pledged to set up an association to enhance the delivery of justice across the region.

It is anticipated that the conference will provide a platform to initiate this association, or regional network, according to David Fraser, Adviser in the LCAD.

“It will be good to get prosecutors together in a formal association to promote co-operation and better networking,” he said, adding that the workshop will also provide some training to build capacity among the participants.

The conference will also explore the potential of exchange programmes and work placements across the Caribbean and potentially other regions in the Commonwealth.

The conference will be opened by Jamaica’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and will also feature an address by the country’s Chief Justice.

LCAD facilitates co-operation among member countries in the areas of constitutional and international law, the development and administration of systems of justice, and in combating serious and transnational crime. Its aim is to assist member countries to strengthen their justice institutions and processes, and to enhance their capacity to adopt modern and effective laws.