Meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 3-7 May 1999
10 May 1999
COMMUNIQUÉ1. The 1999 meeting of Law Ministers of the Commonwealth was held at the Hilton Hotel, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from 5-7 May 1999. It fell just a few days after the 50th Anniversary of the London Declaration which laid the foundations of the modern Commonwealth. The meeting was attended by Ministers, Attorneys-General and other law officers and officials from 46 countries and 2 overseas territories. The meeting was chaired by the Honourable Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, MP, Attorney-General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
2. The Opening Ceremony was attended by His Excellency the Acting President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr Ganach Ramdial, and was addressed by the Prime Minister, the Honourable Basdeo Panday, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, His Excellency Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and the Attorney-General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. On behalf of Ministers, the Honourable Dr A Omar, Minister of Justice of the Republic of South Africa expressed to the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago their thanks and appreciation for the generous welcome and hospitality extended to them and to their delegations from the time of their arrival in Trinidad.
3. Ministers welcomed observers from the CARICOM Secretariat, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the South Pacific Forum Secretariat and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, No Peace Without Justice, as well as from legal associations which form part of the Commonwealth family, notably the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association and the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association. The Meeting received a message from the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee, and looked forward to continued collaboration between the Commonwealth Secretariat and that Committee.
GOOD GOVERNANCE ISSUES
4. Respect for the rule of law is the foundation of any democratic society and a key element in good governance which the Commonwealth's fundamental political values seek to secure. Ministers began their Meeting by addressing a number of issues explicitly concerned with questions of good governance.
Strategies for Consolidating and Enforcing Fundamental Political Values of the Commonwealth
Access to Justice
5. Ministers recognised the importance of access to justice without which there could be no confidence in the legal system. They shared their recent experiences in seeking to eliminate delays in the administration of both civil and criminal justice and in the overhaul of procedures to produce simpler and more cost-effective processes. In some countries a radical change in legal culture might be needed, with the introduction of modern case-management techniques, and this would require the active co-operation of the judiciary and the legal profession.
6. A strong theme in Ministers' discussion of this topic was the need to secure community participation in the legal process. This implied heightened public awareness of legal rights. Several Ministers mentioned that it was important to make adequate provision for public interest litigation. It was also important to give particular attention to the provision of legal services to disadvantaged groups, individuals and localities, with effective systems of legal assistance. Ministers heard of an experiment which sought to provide access to justice, at low cost, through courts presided over by private practitioners. It was unacceptable that legal remedies should, for whatever reasons, be available in practice only to a limited section of the population.
7. However, Ministers emphasised that access to justice involved more than the conventional court system. A growing number of countries had experience of alternative methods of dispute resolution such as community-based mediation Ministers encouraged the Commonwealth Secretariat to continue to provide information and advice on all developments which might help member countries reduce obstacles to access to justice.
Rule of Law and Independence of the Judiciary
8. Ministers expressed their warm appreciation of the work undertaken by the Australian Attorney-General's Department to collect information from member countries on the independence of the judiciary and in developing a database which would prove to be an invaluable research tool. Ministers encouraged countries to complete and return outstanding surveys to the Commonwealth Secretariat, welcomed the proposed transfer of the database to the Secretariat and asked the Secretariat to maintain it as a useful resource for all Commonwealth countries.
9. Ministers noted a set of Guidelines on good practice governing relations between the Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary in the promotion of good governance, the rule of law and human rights, drawn up by a conference sponsored by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association which was held at Latimer House, London, in June 1998. They asked their Senior Officials to study the Guidelines and to report to the next Law Ministers Meeting.
Corruption and good governance
10. Ministers recalled the Statement on corruption that was issued by them at the close of their previous Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 1996 and welcomed the appointment by the Secretary-General of an Expert Group on Good Governance and the Elimination of Corruption in Economic Management. Ministers were pleased to welcome to their meeting the Chairman of the Expert Group, Dr Kwesi Botchwey, who gave a presentation of the main features of the Group's Report.
11. In considering the Report of the Group, Ministers welcomed the multi-disciplinary approach adopted by the Group and the wide-ranging consideration which had been given to this complex topic, one of great relevance to member countries. Ministers also expressed concern not only with corruption in the exercise of public office (including judicial office) but also with corruption in the media and the private sector generally, and expressed concern about the issue of the funding of political parties and election campaigns.
12. Ministers considered a draft Framework for Commonwealth Principles on Promoting Good Governance and Combating Corruption prepared by the Expert Group on Good Governance and the Elimination of Corruption in Economic Management. Whilst generally welcoming the principles contained in the document, several Ministers questioned some aspects of this document, including its suggestion that the judiciary should have the responsibility for administering its own operational budget and its use of the concept of 'zero tolerance', and asked that the various concerns expressed be taken into account in the further work which was necessary before the document could be considered by Commonwealth Heads of Government.
13. Ministers noted that the Commonwealth practice was to use Declarations and Schemes rather than legally binding Conventions. They were unwilling to see any departure from this settled practice in the context of further work on corruption, and noted the extensive work undertaken in other international fora which, where appropriate, could be used to inform the development of a Commonwealth strategy to address the problem. In this regard, it was noted that Commonwealth initiatives could include the development of a Commonwealth scheme, accession to existing international conventions or the promotion of initiatives within the United Nations for an international convention.
FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ISSUES
14. The second phase of the Ministers' discussions covered a range of topics enabling the Meeting to reflect on current issues in international law.
Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters; and of Maintenance Orders
15. Ministers noted recent work under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law on issues of Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters. They recognised the growing importance of this topic in international trade, and the fact that much Commonwealth legislation was in need of revision. For these reasons they welcomed the work of the Hague Conference and asked to be kept informed of progress. Similar considerations applied to the proposed review by the Hague Conference of international arrangements for the enforcement of maintenance orders.
Implementation of International Conventions
WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism
16. The recent decision in the Bananas case served to illustrate both the importance of and the problems with the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the World Trade Organisation. Ministers noted the objectives of the new procedures - to contribute to the security and predictability of international trade - but considered that its utility could be considerably diminished unless there was effective participation therein. They recommended that the Commonwealth Secretariat continue its work in WTO related matters especially in facilitating continued training for government legal officers involved in the implementation of the WTO Agreements. They also asked the Secretariat to continue its work in collaboration with other relevant international and regional organisations in providing technical assistance to ensure that member countries, especially developing and least developed member countries which do not have the resources to protect their trading interests, are given the necessary assistance. Ministers recognised the propriety and importance of the proposed Advisory Centre on WTO Law, and gave their support to this proposal.
United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity 1992
17. Ministers recognised the importance of the provisions relating to access to biological resources in Article 15 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity 1992. Many developing countries were rich in biological diversity, but relatively few had taken steps to implement the provisions of Article 15 in national legislation and practice. The Meeting also noted the significance of the Convention's provisions on intellectual property rights, not least in the context of rights in plants used in traditional medicine. Ministers asked the Commonwealth Secretariat to continue its work in this important field including the provision of advice and assistance in the implementation of the Convention.
International Criminal Court
18. Ministers recalled the support given by many member countries for the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the need for countries becoming parties to the Rome Statute to take appropriate steps to review the scope of their domestic criminal law as they embark upon the process of ratification. A number of Commonwealth countries are signatories to this Statute and their Ministers urged those who have not signed to do so. The Ministers recommended that the Commonwealth Secretariat monitor and, so far as practicable, participate, together with member countries, in the work of the Preparatory Commission.
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
19. It has been a regular feature of recent Law Ministers Meetings that time has been devoted to human rights issues. The Port of Spain Meeting was no exception.
Human Rights Impact Assessments
20. Ministers received a paper introducing the concept of a Human Rights Impact Assessment as a technique that would assist in the entrenchment of the Commonwealth's fundamental values for the benefit the citizens of member countries. The principle of a Human Rights Impact Assessment which recognises the principle of the indivisibility, the inter-dependence and the interconnectedness of human rights and which is applicable at both the national and international levels was welcomed. Ministers noted that some member countries already had in place satisfactory alternative methods (such as the scrutiny of proposed legislation by specialist Human Rights units or parliamentary committees) to further the same objectives. The Secretariat was urged to further refine the concept for consideration by Senior Officials and ultimately by Ministers at their next meeting.
Contemporary Issues Affecting the Enjoyment of Human rights
The Right to Information
21. Ministers received a set of draft Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Know prepared by an Expert Group in March 1999. They recalled that at their meeting in Barbados in 1980 they emphasised the importance of access by citizens to official information in the promotion of public participation in a democratic governmental process. The benefits which such access can bring include the facilitation of public participation in public affairs, enhancing the accountability of government, providing a powerful aid in the fight against corruption as well as being a key livelihood and development issue. Towards this end Ministers decided to adopt Annex 1 to this communiqué (Commonwealth Freedom of Information Principles). Ministers recommend that the Commonwealth Secretariat promote these Principles and also encourage other Commonwealth groups to consider ways in which they could contribute to the promotion of these principles.
The Environment
22. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the programme of action adopted in Langkawi in 1989 by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and endorsed the suggestions that those Commonwealth countries which had not yet done so to ratify international and regional environmental agreements.. They asked the Commonwealth Secretariat to continue to monitor developments in this field.
23. Some Ministers were, however, unwilling to consider the protection of the environment as a human right and judged it inappropriate to give national human rights institutions an extended remit to include environmental concerns
Trafficking in persons
24. Ministers noted that the United Nations was preparing an international convention to combat transnational organised crime with Protocols (a) to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Women and Children; (b) on the Illegal Trafficking of Migrants; and (c) Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition and other Related Materials. They welcomed the participation of the Commonwealth Secretariat in this work. They also noted the Stockholm Declaration of the World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children in August 1996 which Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs had urged governments to adopt and implement. Law Ministers noted the important legal implications of this multi-faceted problem, and welcomed the action of the Commonwealth Secretariat in commissioning the preparation of Guidelines on Administrative and Legislative Measures to Address the Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children in the Commonwealth. Ministers expressed the hope that the Guidelines with the already existing Commonwealth schemes for mutual assistance and co-operation in criminal matters would constitute a solid base for co-ordinated, collective Commonwealth action to fight this abhorrent practice.
Violence against Women
25. Ministers recalled that the Vienna Conference on Human Rights (which called for the development of National Action Plans on Human Rights) had emphasised the importance of working towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life, the elimination of all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women, the elimination of gender bias in the administration of justice, and the eradication of all conflicts which may arise between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism. They noted the 1995 Commonwealth Plan of Action on Gender and Development which identified violence against women as a priority area for action by Commonwealth governments, and endorsed the work of the Gender and Youth Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in developing a holistic model framework for an integrated approach to combat violence against women using a Gender Management Systems methodology.
26. Ministers also noted the value of the Model Strategies and Practical Measures adopted in 1997 by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (as endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 52/86) and their relevance in the drafting of national legislation. Ministers recognised the importance of training and awareness-raising programmes for law enforcement personnel and the general public. Legal provisions could not provide a panacea but had an important place in the total strategy.
The Domestic Application of International Humanitarian Law
27. Ministers received from the Observer from the International Committee of the Red Cross a presentation of a paper from the Advisory Service in International Humanitarian Law of that Committee which contained information on the various Conventions in the field of International Humanitarian Law and a summary of the position of each Commonwealth country in respect of their ratification and implementation.
28. The Meeting noted that International Humanitarian Law continued to develop, with the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines having been negotiated since Law Ministers last met. Commonwealth countries were encouraged to make further progress in ratifying and implementing the relevant conventions and welcomed the offer of the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide advice and assistance.
LAW AND TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
29. Developments in Information Technology can have profound legal implications, and Ministers gave attention to a number of current issues in this field.
Electronic Commerce
30. Ministers recognised that the development of electronic commerce was of importance to all countries, with the potential to bring about major changes in business practices. The Meeting received a paper identifying the legal issues to be addressed as well as a number of papers outlining steps taken by member countries in developing the legal structure for electronic commerce. While Ministers recognised that existing legal principles could be rendered applicable to new forms of commerce, they stressed the need to ensure that existing rules and laws did not prevent full advantage being taken of new technology. There were some difficult issues, notably in the protection of privacy and the area of encryption, and there needed to be a careful assessment of the degree of regulation that was appropriate.
31. The Meeting received a presentation from the Secretary-General of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, and agreed that the UNCITRAL Model Law provided a suitable basis for a legislative action in Commonwealth countries, being both flexible and technologically neutral. Member countries were encouraged to adopt the UNCITRAL model law.
Computer and Computer Related Crime
32. Ministers recognised the challenge to law enforcement agencies presented by the computer and computer related crime. They agreed to the following courses of action:
that the Secretariat distribute to member countries as much material as possible on international developments in the field of high-tech crime, including nationals laws;
that the Secretariat seek to co-operate with and, to the extent possible, participate in work of other international organisations in this area;
that the Secretariat review, as necessary, the Commonwealth Schemes on the Rendition of Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters to ensure that they are capable of supporting essential international co-operation to combat high-tech crime;
that, following conclusion of the Council of Europe Convention, expert volunteers from member countries participate in a group to be convened by the Secretariat with a view to drafting a model law for use by Commonwealth countries.
33. Ministers agreed further that the working group, in addition to developing
(i) a model law, or were that not feasible a set of principles or guidelines to guide the development and enactment of laws to criminalise various forms of computer-related abuse;
(ii) a model law or guidelines on the admissibility of computerised evidence;
(iii) taking into account work in other international fora, a model law or guidelines to ensure that members of the Commonwealth have adequate laws to investigate computer related crime, both domestically and internationally, including search and seizure of computer systems and determining the source and destination of communications;
should pay attention to issues relating to the admissibility of computer evidence and make such recommendations consistent with the laws of evidence in member countries as may be appropriate and/or necessary for the modernisation of laws
COMMONWEALTH SCHEMES OF CO-OPERATION IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
34. Another regular item on the Agendas of Law Ministers and of Senior Officials concerns the monitoring, and where necessary, revision of the Commonwealth Schemes of co-operation in the field of criminal justice.
The Commonwealth Scheme on the Rendition of Fugitive Offenders
35. Ministers recalled that at their 1996 Meeting, they had noted that developments in international practice and in the case-law of a number of Commonwealth jurisdictions suggested a need to modernise the provisions of the London Scheme for the Rendition of
Fugitive Offenders. Senior Officials had considered, at their meetings in London in 1998 and in Port of Spain, suggested amendments drawing in part on the United Nations Model Extradition Treaty. Ministers decided that, notwithstanding the view of some member countries that the London Scheme was working satisfactorily, Senior Officials would continue their work with a view to making firm recommendations as to possible amendments for consideration at the next Law Ministers Meeting.
The INTERPOL Red Notice System
36. Ministers noted the changes made in the INTERPOL Red Notice System in 1997 and resolved to:
acknowledge that the new INTERPOL Red Notices provide significant information on proposed requests for extradition;
agree that INTERPOL Red Notices in the new form should be treated by all member countries as requests for provisional arrest or, in cases where the locating country requires more information than is contained in the Red Notice, as advance notice of formal requests for provisional arrest;
agree that where they treat INTERPOL Red Notices as advance notices of formal requests for provisional arrest they will immediately notify the country which sought the issue of the Red Notice when the subject is located within their jurisdiction and seek the additional information required for the making of an application for the issue of a warrant within their own country;
agree that when making application to the INTERPOL General Secretariat for the issue of a Red Notice, they will send all relevant information to INTERPOL, including a copy of the relevant warrant and include in the application, the text of the laws creating the offence/s for which surrender will be sought and selecting the third option listed under extradition in part 3 of the application form and adding to that section the names of any Commonwealth country which has designated the applicant country under its law.
The Commonwealth Scheme on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters
37. Ministers agreed to adopt two amendments to the Harare Scheme, which had been considered by Senior Officials. They noted that the amendment to paragraph 27 of the Scheme reflected a recommendation of the Oxford Conference held in August 1998. The text of the amendments is annexed as Annex 2 to this Communiqué.
Resource Implications of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters
38. Ministers recalled that the Law Officers of Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions had in 1995 expressed their concern that a number of small countries had not enacted legislation to implement the Harare Scheme on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters because they were concerned over the potential implications of such legislation on their human and financial resources. They further recalled the consideration which had been
given by them and their Senior Officials to the development of a Set of Guidelines on the Apportionment of Costs in mutual assistance cases.
39. They took note of a number of concerns of some Ministers on the Guidelines recommended by Senior Officials. In particular that they could give rise to an expectation that requests for assistance could be routinely refused when the granting of a reques imposed any constraint on the resources of the requested country. They also noted the views of some Ministers that the issues of cost sharing, asset sharing or the provision of human resource assistance by the requesting country should be seen as the primary means of solving resource issues in individual cases.
40. Ministers however decided to adopt the Guidelines on the clear understanding that they should be the subject of further consultation between member countries with a view to ensuring that their application and operation in no way affected the realisation of the legitimate expectation of a requesting country that requests which comply with the Harare Scheme will, subject to the express provisions of the Scheme, be granted and that issues of costs are best resolved by bilateral consultations between the requesting and requested countries.
41. The Secretariat was asked to report to the next meeting of Ministers on the operation of the Scheme and the Guidelines and Senior Officials were directed to co-operate with the Secretariat to ensure that the views and experiences of all member countries were reflected in that report. Ministers asked that, should the report reveal any difficulties with the operation of the Guidelines, they be given the opportunity to review the wording of the document to resolve the difficulties expressed by member countries whose reservations they accepted as expressions of real national concern.
The Balance between Individual Rights and Global Interests in International Co-operation to Combat Crime
42. Ministers received a report of the conclusions and recommendations of the 1998 Oxford Conference on International Co-operation in Criminal Matters, convened by the Commercial Crime and Human Rights Units of the Commonwealth Secretariat's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division to consider issues referred to the Secretariat by Law Ministers at their 1996 meeting.
43. The Meeting welcomed the production of the Report and the proposed publication of the papers presented to the Conference and gave general support to the conclusions of the Conference. It was noted that one of the Conference recommendations (concerning the protection of bona fide third parties in respect of restrained or confiscated property) had already been acted upon in the course of the Meeting.
44. Ministers asked Senior Officials to consider the Conference Report in detail, and to give specific consideration to the feasibility of adopting recommendations concerning (a) the possible amendment of the London Scheme for the Rendition of Fugitive Offenders so that a requested state would be required to refuse extradition if there were substantial evidence that the return of a fugitive would incur a real risk of a serious violation of a human rights treaty to which the requested state is a party, or to an obligation under customary international law.; (b) the possible development of proposals for national laws and any necessary amendments to the Commonwealth Schemes on conditional extradition, and the extension or creation of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction to permit prosecution in lieu of extradition; (c) the availability of court-based mutual legal assistance channels to the defence; (d) issues relating to privilege, including legal privilege and privilege against self-incrimination; (e) the interception of (and evidence obtained from the interception of) telecommunications and other forms of electronic surveillance; and (f) the taking of personal samples. Ministers asked Senior Officials to advise whether there would be benefit in developing a common Commonwealth approach to any of the other issues identified by participants at the Conference.
OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH IN THE LEGAL FIELD
Money Laundering
45. Ministers took note of the conclusions of two meetings that had examined issues connected with money laundering: a workshop held in May 1998 on money laundering through emerging cyberspace technology, and a joint meeting of Senior Officials of Law and Finance Ministries in London in June 1998. Ministers:
took note of the results of the second self-evaluation of progress in implementation of the 40 Recommendations of the FATF and mandated the Commonwealth Secretariat to undertake such evaluations (in concert with other relevant anti-money laundering organisations) prior to each meeting of Law Ministers;
expressed their strong support for the initiative of the Government of Tanzania in its efforts to take forward the proposal to establish a regional anti-money laundering group in Eastern and Southern Africa;
asked Senior Officials to consider and report to them on the question whether or not a Scheme relating to Mutual Assistance Between Business Regulatory Agencies could assist Commonwealth countries in their effort to co-operate to combat abuse of cyberspace and, in particular, to prevent money laundering through emerging cyberspace technology;
asked Senior Officials to consider the issue of establishing a procedure which will enable criminal proceedings in cybercrime cases to be brought in the most appropriate jurisdiction; and
asked for the preparation of a report for their next meeting on the international law and sovereignty issues which arise when computer search techniques result in cross border investigative action.
Model Bill to Implement the Scheme for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage
46. Ministers agreed to adopt a Draft Model Bill as a guide for countries to use in enacting the necessary legislation to implement the Commonwealth Scheme on Protection of the Cultural Heritage. The Bill was based on an original draft prepared by Attorney General's Department, Australia, and which had been the subject of detailed scrutiny by Senior Officials. They asked Senior Officials to undertake further work to clarify a number of points where clarification or amplification of the Scheme itself might be desirable.
Cross-border insolvency
47. The Meeting heard from the Secretary-General of UNCITRAL an account of the main features of the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency adopted in 1997. Ministers encouraged governments to study the Model Law and welcomed the offer by the UNCITRAL Secretariat of assistance in the technical aspects of the preparation of national legislation.
Computerisation
48. Ministers discussed the impact of computerisation on both the working methods of the courts and the process of law revision. Their consideration of the latter aspect was assisted by a study of experience in the Caribbean region. Ministers reiterated that access to the law, both statute and judge made, is necessary and, indeed, critical to an effective system of justice; and that accurate, accessible and secure court and civil legal records which facilitate the proper administration of justice were essential. They acknowledged that many Commonwealth countries and jurisdictions are experiencing problems in maintaining one or more of the essential components of an effective justice system; and asked the Commonwealth Secretariat, using available resources, to examine, in consultation with relevant bilateral and multilateral donors, the possibility of developing and putting into place systems which will ensure access to the law and the development of effective systems of administration of justice.
Training of Legislative Drafters
49. Ministers noted the difficulties experienced by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth of Learning in maximising the benefits of the innovative distance-learning training programme and acknowledged that they had a responsibility to identify and nominate suitable trainees and to provide those trainees with the necessary support to enable them to complete the course.
Other matters
50. Ministers received a range of useful papers containing information on other current legal developments and heard reports on the problems of publishing law reports experienced in some countries and on the coming Constitutional referendum in Australia.
Strategies for future Law Ministers Meetings
51. Ministers recognised that there was already in place a procedure for the organisation and administration of ministerial meetings which facilitated an effective consultation process. Nevertheless, they believed that there was room for reform. They considered therefore that it was an opportune time to give consideration to the question how they might maximise the opportunities given by their meetings both for the development of pan-Commonwealth solutions to shared problems and for the devising of means of advancing the shared legal tradition of the Commonwealth and maintaining and implementing the core values of the Association. They shared a concern that their meetings should be clearly focused and accordingly acknowledged that the procedure for setting the agenda of future meetings they must participate in active dialogue with the Secretariat to ensure that major issues of common concern were covered.
52. While recognising the value of the diversity of Commonwealth traditions, they concluded that meetings should balance the tradition of sharing national experiences with the need to ensure time for adequate debate on new issues. They asked the Commonwealth Secretariat to facilitate the submission and circulation of written national reports on agenda items. Ministers asked that the Secretariat consider how they might have the opportunity to benefit from the presence of experts from organisations with observer status and by receiving in depth presentations on major issues from among their own number. They expressed the view that their deliberations would be rendered more effective if supported by an early indication of the views of the Senior Officials and the records of their meetings, and by a system of distinguishing between papers dealing with issues to be considered by Ministers and upon which decisions are required and those papers which are submitted for their information.
APPRECIATION
53. Ministers expressed their very warm appreciation to the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago for their most generous hospitality. In particular they paid tribute to the Honourable Attorney-General, Mr Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, for the consummate skill with which he guided the meeting through its agenda. Ministers also acknowledged the untiring efforts of the Trinidad and Tobago Organising Committee that had gone to great lengths to ensure the smoothness of the arrangements for their stay in Trinidad and Tobago from the time of their arrival until their departure.
54. Ministers expressed their warm appreciation for the work of the Secretariat in preparing for this meeting. On the occasion of the last Law Ministers Meeting to be attended by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, they took the opportunity to express their appreciation for his inspired leadership. They also noted that the Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division, Mr Richard Nzerem, would retire before their next meeting and recorded their sincere appreciation of his signal dedication over many years to the development of a Commonwealth legal tradition evidenced by enhanced and effective co-operation between member countries. Mr Nzerem, in response, expressed his thanks for the friendship and support of Ministers and their officials over the years.
Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago
7 May 1999
Issued by the Information and Public Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX,
United Kingdom.
Tel: 0207-839 3411;
Fax: 0207-839 9081;
Telex: 27678
99/31 10 May, 1999
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