Jones loses at CCJ

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed a petition by TT national Jason Jones against the Council for Legal Education (CLE) in which he claimed discrimination against holders of external law degrees by law schools operated by the council. The three law schools are the Hugh Wooding Law School; the Norman Manley Law School and the Eugene Dupuch Law School.

The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) and the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) were named as second and third respondents. The judgement was handed down by a five-member panel. The application, which was filed earlier on July 18, 2018, claimed that holders of law degrees from other institutions except the UWI and the University of Guyana had to write entrance exams before being admitted to the law schools. UWI graduates were given automatic admission while graduates from the University of Guyana “with certain limitations” were automatically admitted to the regional law schools.

He said the process of admissions had “deprived him of his ability to complete his professional training in TT as well as other Caricom states.”

Jones had cited Article 222 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. However, Caricom filed its own application on August 9 saying the Court did not have the necessary jurisdiction to entertain a claim against the council.

“The application for special leave and the proposed originating application are manifestly ill-founded and are accordingly manifestly inadmissible.”

In the judgement, the court wrote that it ‘is satisfied, at this stage, that it has no jurisdiction over the Council and orders that the application for special leave to commence proceedings against the Council be dismissed.”