The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), a key regional judicial body, has been thrown into internal turmoil following a series of explosive allegations from sitting judges—and its president has broken his silence to issue a comprehensive public defense of his actions. In a detailed statement released Friday, CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson pushed back against reports of deep internal dysfunction, including claims of broken judicial protocol and manipulated panel assignments designed to guarantee preordained case outcomes.
Anderson opened his address by acknowledging the widespread damage the leaked reports have already caused, noting that the unfolding controversy has stirred “concern, anxiety and profound sadness” among court staff, legal stakeholders, and communities across the Caribbean region. He launched a sharp rebuke of the unauthorized disclosure of confidential internal court discussions and private correspondence, labeling the leaks as entirely unacceptable. Anderson emphasized that these disclosures directly erode the foundational principle of judicial independence, and have eroded public trust in the judiciary, the third branch of regional governance.
At the heart of the public dispute is a clash over judicial dress code. Anderson confirmed that he removed a fellow judge from the panel hearing a July preliminary application in the high-profile case *D’Almada v Trinidad and Tobago*. The removal, he confirmed, stemmed exclusively from the judge’s refusal to comply with the court’s established dress norms, insisting on wearing national dress instead of the court’s traditional judicial robes or approved alternative business attire.
Anderson traced the history of CCJ dress protocols back to the court’s founding. He explained that the court’s framers explicitly intended judges to uphold the longstanding Caribbean judicial tradition of wearing formal robes during public hearings. While the court’s official rules do not explicitly address dress requirements for in-chambers proceedings, Anderson noted that a consistent regional standard had evolved over time. For interlocutory and in-chambers matters, judges gradually shifted from formal robes to bench jackets, and eventually to business suits as an acceptable alternative when robes were not worn.
According to Anderson, he first raised the dress code concern privately with the dissenting judge in June, but failed to reach an agreement that would bring the judge into compliance with the court’s established practice. He stressed that his decision to remove the judge from this specific panel was driven solely by the attire disagreement, and was not linked to the judge’s legal opinions, participation in internal deliberations, or any other component of their judicial work.
In the wake of the dispute, Anderson has moved to formalize a clear, written judicial dress code, which he submitted to the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission for review back in June. He also offered a limited concession, acknowledging that he “may have approached the matter… too strongly” in his initial handling of the disagreement.
Most critically, Anderson completely rejected the most serious allegation leveled against him: that he manipulates panel composition to skew case outcomes. He dismissed these claims as “wholly untrue”, and condemned the shift from a relatively minor dispute over court attire to serious accusations of panel fixing. He described this expansion of the controversy as “irresponsible, intellectually dishonest, injudicious and quite simply, malevolent.”
The public statement marks the most extensive official response to date to reports of internal strife within the CCJ, a key institution that supports judicial processes across multiple Caribbean jurisdictions. It remains to be seen whether the acknowledgement of the dispute and Anderson’s defense will resolve growing concerns about institutional stability and public confidence in the regional court.
分类： politics
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CCJ president bashes leaking of confidential messages and refutes panel-fixing allegations
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LISTEN: All Police Officers Could Be Armed 24/7 Under Government Proposal
In a bold push to strengthen police safety and public security, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly thrown his support behind a policy that would allow all vetted police officers to carry firearms around the clock, addressing long-held vulnerabilities in the current regulatory framework.
Under the existing rules, most officers are required to surrender their service weapons to department armories at the end of each shift, a requirement Browne argues leaves law enforcement personnel exposed to retaliation from criminal actors. He highlighted a particularly high-risk scenario: an officer who arrests a suspect only to see that individual released on bail shortly after, then leaves the officer defenseless once they turn in their gun after their shift ends.
Beyond the threat of targeted retaliation, Browne noted that off-duty officers often come across unplanned criminal activity while going about their personal lives. Without a service weapon on hand, many are hesitant to intervene to stop harm, which can let crimes escalate before on-duty responders arrive at the scene.
Contrary to the current system that restricts 24/7 firearm access almost exclusively to elite units like the Special Services Unit, Browne is calling for this privilege to be extended to any officer deemed mentally and physically fit to carry a weapon. The prime minister confirmed that the proposal has already been brought forward for discussion by the national Cabinet, moving the policy one step closer to potential adoption.
Crucially, Browne emphasized that expanded access to firearms would come with strict mandatory requirements: any officer authorized to carry a weapon 24 hours a day must complete comprehensive training covering safe operation of firearms, appropriate use-of-force protocols, and secure off-duty storage practices to prevent unauthorized access to the weapons.
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Browne Wants Easier Firearm Access for Business Owners Amid Robbery Surge
Against a backdrop of growing insecurity for commercial enterprises, where armed robberies targeting businesses have become an increasingly urgent threat, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that the national government is evaluating a major policy shift to streamline the process of issuing licensed firearms to legitimate business owners.
Currently, Browne notes, the bureaucratic approval pathway for business owners seeking firearms for personal and property protection is unnecessarily burdensome, leaving many legitimate operators unable to defend themselves against criminal actors. Amid a documented surge in illegal firearms circulating in the country and a corresponding spike in gun-involved violent incidents targeting commercial spaces, the prime minister argues that targeted liberalization of the existing licensing framework is a necessary and justified step to address the public safety gap.
“We think that sometimes it’s too difficult for business people to get a firearm, and we feel that there should be some liberalization there,” Browne stated in public comments on the proposed policy change. He elaborated that business owners have grown progressively more exposed to armed criminal attacks in recent months, and common passive security measures such as closed-circuit surveillance cameras are no longer sufficient to deter or stop attackers. Many offenders intentionally conceal their identities when carrying out robberies, rendering camera footage far less effective for identifying perpetrators after the fact, and doing nothing to stop an attack in progress.
“The time has come now for us to arm these shop operators, these business people,” Browne said. Beyond the immediate ability to defend against an active attack, the prime minister pointed to a key preventive benefit: a general awareness that business owners may carry armed self-defense weapons would act as a broader deterrent, discouraging criminals from targeting commercial establishments in the first place.
Crucially, Browne emphasized that any expansion of legal firearm access for business owners would not come at the cost of public safety, as the policy proposal includes strict mandatory safeguards to prevent accidental harm or misuse. Under the considered framework, all licensed business owners seeking to carry firearms would be required to complete certified firearms safety and handling training, and adhere to strict secure storage requirements when weapons are not in use. Specifically, license holders would be mandated to keep firearms locked in secure vaults when stored at private residences, a measure designed to eliminate unauthorized access by minors and cut the risk of accidental shootings or misuse of weapons.
Browne concluded that the evolving security landscape, marked by rising rates of illegal gun trafficking and gun-related violence, makes a full review of the existing firearm policy a necessary priority for the government, with the core goal of expanding meaningful protection for law-abiding business operators who keep the national economy running.
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CCJ President Denies Panel-Fixing Allegations
In a public statement addressing recently surfaced controversy, Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President Justice Winston Anderson has forcefully rejected allegations that he manipulated judicial panel compositions to sway the outcome of pending cases, tying the entire scandal to a straightforward disagreement over courtroom dress requirements.
The controversy erupted after an unauthorized leak of confidential court internal documents. Anderson confirmed that he made the decision to reassign a sitting judge from a July procedural hearing panel, but emphasized this action stemmed exclusively from the judge’s refusal to comply with the court’s established dress code, which requires standard judicial robes or formal business attire. The judge in question chose to wear traditional cultural dress instead of the required clothing. Anderson stressed that the reassignment had no connection to the judge’s legal perspectives or intended rulings on the case, and added that the judge has already been reinstated to hear the substantive arguments of the same dispute.
Critics of Anderson’s decision have framed the reassignment as an improper act of panel fixing designed to shape the case’s outcome. Anderson pushed back sharply against these accusations, describing them as “irresponsible, intellectually dishonest, injudicious and, quite simply, malevolent.” To back up his claim that no improper influence was exerted, Anderson pointed out that all five judges who ultimately heard the procedural matter issued a unanimous ruling, a result that would not be expected if manipulation had occurred. He also cited a separate high-profile case where all seven sitting CCJ judges reached a unanimous decision as further evidence that he does not seek to coerce judicial outcomes.
To strengthen transparency and eliminate future accusations of panel tampering, Anderson announced a new institutional rule going forward: every CCJ judge will be required to sit on every hearing panel, unless a judge formally recuses themselves from a specific case for ethical or personal reasons.
Anderson also addressed separate questions about his recent participation in negotiations between Guyana’s president and opposition leader to fill vacant senior judicial positions in that country. He clarified that his involvement in these talks was fully consistent with constitutional guidelines and carried no improper political or institutional agenda.
Opening his statement, Anderson condemned the unauthorized disclosure of confidential court records that sparked the controversy, arguing that the leak poses a serious threat to core principles of judicial independence and erodes public trust in the regional court system.
The CCJ serves as the final court of appeal for five Caribbean nations: Belize, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, and Saint Lucia, carrying significant legal weight across the Caribbean region.
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LISTEN: Antigua PM says About 15% of Prison Population Is Jamaican
Antigua and Barbuda is ramping up enforcement actions against undocumented migrants living and working within its borders, and Prime Minister Gaston Browne has shared new data that highlights a striking demographic pattern in the country’s correctional system. During a public discussion addressing rising concerns over overstayed visas and criminal activity linked to non-citizens, Browne made an unexpected disclosure about the share of Jamaican nationals in the nation’s prison population.
The prime minister noted that in recent years, the proportion of people from other countries held in Antigua and Barbuda’s prisons has steadily climbed. Among this growing non-national inmate population, Jamaican citizens alone account for approximately 15 percent of the country’s total prison population, according to Browne’s remarks.
Despite the push to crack down on undocumented residents, the prime minister emphasized that the current administration has no plans to reclassify visa overstays as a criminal offense. Instead, the government’s approach focuses on targeted enforcement against individuals who reside in the country without valid legal status or engage in unauthorized employment. To give affected migrants a path to compliance, officials have rolled out a 60-day window for undocumented people to update and regularize their immigration status, alongside an active general amnesty program that eligible people can utilize.
Browne added that clear instructions have been issued to both law enforcement and national immigration agencies: teams will prioritize identifying and removing undocumented migrants who have engaged in criminal activity during their unauthorized stay in Antigua and Barbuda, prioritizing public safety while streamlining immigration compliance efforts.
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US Warns Nationals of 12 Countries to Leave or Face Deportation After Ending Temporary Protection
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally activated the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for foreign nationals hailing from 12 countries, triggering widespread uncertainty for thousands of vulnerable migrants residing in the United States.
The list of affected nations includes Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, South Sudan, Somalia, and Myanmar, which the U.S. government officially refers to as Burma. In a public advisory posted to its official website, DHS issued a clear directive: all individuals whose TPS designations have expired must depart the U.S. without delay, or they risk being taken into immigration custody and ultimately deported.
First established to provide humanitarian safe haven, TPS is a temporary immigration program that grants eligible individuals from crisis-stricken nations the legal right to live and work in the U.S. The designation is applied when a country is facing unmanageable crises such as large-scale armed conflict, catastrophic natural disasters, or other extraordinary emergencies that make safe return impossible for its citizens.
With the termination now in force, all of these temporary legal protections are revoked. While DHS notes that a small subset of affected migrants may already hold another form of valid legal immigration status, or could potentially meet the eligibility requirements for other forms of immigration relief, the vast majority of the group face an uncertain future, navigating the choice between self-departure and potential forced removal.
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Abinader appoints Juan Manuel Méndez as new INTRANT Director
SANTO DOMINGO — Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has finalized a key leadership appointment for the country’s top transportation regulatory body, installing retired Major General Juan Manuel Méndez García as the new executive director of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (INTRANT). The appointment was formalized through official Decree 551-26.
Born in the small community of Pontón in the central province of La Vega, Méndez García brings a rare cross-disciplinary skill set to the new role, drawing on decades of high-stakes experience across military service, legal practice, and large-scale emergency coordination. Prior to this appointment, he had held two of the nation’s most critical crisis management posts: he has served as the head of the country’s Emergency Operations Center (COE) since 2005, and added the role of director of the Dominican Civil Defense to his portfolio in June 2022.
Méndez García’s 34-year military career with the Dominican Army concluded with his retirement in 2020, capping a tenure that saw him rise to the top rank of major general. Beyond his operational leadership experience, he holds robust academic credentials in law: he earned a doctorate in Law from O&M University, and completed a postgraduate specialization in Civil Law from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), the nation’s oldest and largest public higher education institution.
Throughout his decades of leading national emergency response, Méndez García has overseen coordinated action for some of the most destructive crises the Caribbean region has faced in recent decades. His resume includes leading the Dominican Republic’s response to a string of devastating Atlantic hurricanes — including Gustav, Hanna, Ike, Olga and Noel — as well as the massive 2010 earthquake that devastated neighboring Haiti, and the global COVID-19 pandemic that put unprecedented strain on the country’s public institutions.
His track record of public service has earned him some of the nation’s highest honors, including the prestigious Juan Pablo Duarte Military Grand Cordon, and a formal presidential commendation recognizing his exceptional work coordinating disaster relief in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
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Duartian Institute urges Abinader to explain reports of U.S. pressure over Cuba
SANTO DOMINGO – Against the backdrop of a growing diplomatic controversy over the Dominican government’s order expelling nine Cuban embassy officials, a leading Dominican historical and civic leader has publicly called on the nation to prioritize its sovereign self-determination when crafting all foreign policy positions.
Wilson Gómez Ramírez, president of the Duartian Institute – an organization dedicated to upholding the nation’s founding independent ideals – delivered these remarks during a solemn Sunday ceremony held at the Pantheon of the Fatherland. The event was organized to commemorate the 163rd anniversary of the Dominican Restoration War, a defining 19th-century conflict that secured the nation’s independence after foreign occupation.
Gómez Ramírez, a former constitutional judge, emphasized that the Dominican Republic must uphold its longstanding tradition of strategic prudence in global affairs, grounding all diplomatic decisions in the nation’s own national interests rather than external influence. He specifically called on sitting Dominican President Luis Abinader to open a public explanation of widespread reports claiming U.S. pressure was the driving force behind the government’s decision to give the nine Cuban diplomatic personnel seven days to leave the country.
The institute leader pushed back against any assumption that the Dominican Republic’s close bilateral relationship with the United States must limit its sovereign right to set independent diplomatic stances toward Cuba and other nations around the globe. All foreign policy, he argued, should be anchored in core international principles: binding international law, reciprocal respect between states, the right to national self-determination, and mutual respect for every country’s territorial and political sovereignty.
Tying his appeal directly to the meaning of the Restoration War being honored that day, Gómez Ramírez noted the 1863 conflict remains a permanent reminder of the Dominican people’s long struggle to defend their political independence and retain control over their own national future.
Beyond its commemoration of the Restoration War, the ceremony also included two additional key actions. First, participants paid tribute to all Dominican fighters who gave their lives to restore the nation’s independence in the 1860s. Second, the Duartian Institute publicly announced its support for a pending legislative bill that would authorize the exhumation of former leader Pedro Santana’s remains from their current resting place in the Pantheon of the Fatherland, a move rooted in ongoing historical debate over Santana’s legacy of allying with foreign powers.
The commemorative event concluded with traditional ceremonial acts: a formal floral offering at the site, a military honor tribute before the Pantheon’s permanent votive flame, and the signing of the national landmark’s honorary guest book by attendees.
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Roberto Álvarez concludes six-year term as Dominican Foreign Minister
SANTO DOMINGO — After six years leading the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Álvarez officially wrapped up his term on Sunday, marking the close of an eventful tenure that reshaped the country’s diplomatic profile. His departure follows a formal resignation, and President Luis Abinader moved quickly to name his successor via Decree 554-26, tapping Víctor “Ito” Bisonó to take over the top foreign policy role.
In a public statement shared to the social platform X, Álvarez extended gratitude to President Abinader for the trust placed in him over his time in office. He reflected on his exit with a clear sense of accomplishment, noting he leaves the ministry with “the satisfaction of a duty fulfilled” and deep pride in the collective work achieved during his administration. Álvarez also offered thanks to the full team of officials, policy professionals and technical staff at the foreign ministry, as well as personnel across all Dominican diplomatic and consular missions worldwide. He closed his message by wishing Bisonó every success as he takes on the new responsibilities of the role.
When Álvarez first took office in August 2020 alongside the Abinader administration, he set out a core agenda focused on two key priorities: modernizing the institutional infrastructure of the Foreign Ministry and building a more professional, capable Dominican foreign service. Over his six years, his team delivered a series of tangible reforms, including launching two open public competitive examinations to recruit new talent into the diplomatic corps, overhauling the outdated consular revenue collection system, and establishing more robust, responsive mechanisms to support and protect Dominican citizens living or traveling abroad when international crises strike.
Álvarez’s tenure also saw the Dominican Republic take on a heightened diplomatic role on the global stage, most notably around the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis in neighboring Haiti. The country’s sustained diplomatic engagement helped build international support for intervention efforts, ultimately leading to the United Nations Security Council’s approval of a multinational support mission to stabilize Haiti. Beyond the Haiti crisis, the Dominican Republic hosted the 28th Ibero-American Summit in 2023, a major gathering of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking nations, and twice held the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Central American Integration System, stepping into a regional leadership role during that time.
Looking back at the administration’s foreign policy framework, Álvarez emphasized that all diplomatic efforts pursued under President Abinader were anchored in four core goals: protecting the rights and interests of Dominican citizens at home and abroad, opening new economic opportunities for the country through international partnerships, advancing mutually beneficial development cooperation with other nations, and strengthening the Dominican Republic’s standing as a credible, engaged actor on the global stage.
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Félix Bautista proposes bill to help reduce U.S. tariff on Dominican exports
In a strategic move to boost the competitiveness of Dominican export products in the U.S. market, Senator Félix Bautista has introduced landmark legislation to the Dominican Senate that would ban all imports of goods produced, either entirely or partially, through forced labor. The proposed bill, Bautista argues, creates a clear policy foundation to negotiate a reduction of existing U.S. tariffs on Dominican goods, a change that could save the country’s export sector millions of dollars annually.
Currently, Dominican exports entering the U.S. are subject to a 12.5% tariff, a full 2.5 percentage points higher than the rate applied to several peer economies including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Malaysia. This tariff discrepancy, Bautista explains, places Dominican exporters at an unfair disadvantage, cutting into their profit margins and pricing some domestic goods out of the competitive U.S. market. He estimates the annual cost of this gap to the Dominican export sector ranges between $127 million and $182 million, a significant hit to an economy deeply reliant on access to the U.S. consumer market.
To address both the ethical issue of forced labor and the economic priority of tariff relief, the proposed legislation outlines a robust regulatory framework. If passed, it would enact a permanent ban on forced-labor-produced imports and mandate enhanced supply chain traceability across all import categories. Enforcement of the new rules would fall to the General Directorate of Customs, while the Ministry of Labor would act as the designated technical body responsible for confirming instances of forced labor in foreign supply chains.
The bill includes a series of concrete provisions to ensure compliance: it requires mandatory importer affidavits confirming goods are not produced with forced labor, grants authorities temporary power to seize suspected shipments, establishes a searchable public registry of banned imports, and outlines stiff penalties for importers that submit false declarations. For high-risk sectors that supply Dominican production chains—including textiles, agriculture, fishing, mining and construction—exporters would face stricter due diligence and traceability requirements to ensure full compliance with the new rules.
Bautista notes that the new legislation builds on the existing legal foundation laid by July’s Decree 502-26, strengthening and codifying the country’s commitment to eliminating forced labor from its trade networks. This strengthened framework, he argues, gives the Dominican Republic solid leverage to request the U.S. close the tariff gap and align the country’s rate with the 10% applied to comparable trading partners.
Looking ahead, the senator plans to launch an aggressive outreach campaign to build support for the bill, holding meetings with key stakeholders including export industry leaders, free-trade zone representatives, and multiple government agencies as he pushes the legislation through both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
The urgency of the reform underscores the Dominican Republic’s deep economic ties to the U.S. market. Data shows between 52.5% and 53.5% of all Dominican exports are destined for the U.S. The country recorded total exports of $14.645 billion in 2025, and 2024 free-trade zone exports hit $8.426 billion, with more than $6.117 billion of those goods sent to U.S. buyers.