Fundamentals of Caribbean Constitutional Law 2nd ed

Fundamentals of Caribbean Constitutional Law is an essential resource for all students and practitioners of Caribbean public law. It identifies the key features of the constitutional systems in the 12 independent states and 6 overseas territories in the Anglophone Caribbean, discusses the foundational concepts associated with these constitutions and reviews the development and reform of constitutional law in this region.

This book is an authoritative source of what is the law. The first edition is cited in judicial decisions from Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago, including by several of the region’s appellate courts.

Fundamentals of Caribbean Constitutional Law:

• addresses the key principles of constitutional law, including constitutional supremacy in the independent states, judicial review, the rule of law, separation of powers, judicial independence and the protection of fundamental rights;
• explains the main systems of constitutional governance, namely the prime ministerial government found in 11 independent states, shared governance in the 6 overseas territories and the hybrid presidential system in Guyana;
• draws on a wide range of sources covering the decisions of all the courts that serve the region, including the Caribbean Court of Justice and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council;
• deals with contemporary debates in constitutional law such as the identity of Caribbean constitutions, the interpretation of savings law clauses, the growing importance of implied constitutional law principles, unconstitutional constitutional amendments, and the constitutionality of expansive delegated legislation introduced during a crisis; and
• covers unique features of the constitutions, including the direct horizontal application of the bill of rights in Jamaica, special Acts in Trinidad and Tobago and people-initiated referenda in the Cayman Islands.

Fundamentals of Caribbean Constitutional Law is essential reading for all students engaged in studying for the LLB, a mixed law degree or LLM in the Caribbean, and those who trained as lawyers or did the LLB degree outside the Caribbean who are qualifying to practice law in the Caribbean. The book is also a valuable reference for legal practitioners throughout the Commonwealth and for students of comparative constitutional law.