by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN) – The 35th Meeting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Legal Affairs Committee was held on July 6 and 7, 2023, in Gros Islet, St. Lucia, where regional legal officials discussed and finalised a regional customs bill.
The meeting was chaired by Hon. Leslie Mondesir, Attorney-General of St. Lucia.
Attorney-General & Minister of Justice & Legal Affairs, Hon. Garth Wilkin, attended on behalf of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis and in a Facebook post gave a brief snapshot of what happened throughout the two-day meeting.
“The OECS Legal Affairs Committee is meeting over two days to discuss and finalise the OECS Model Customs Bill, which seeks to harmonise our customs laws to properly implement the important OECS Economic Union principles established by the Revised Treaty of Basseterre.
The OECS is an internationally respected integration movement of which we should all be proud. The OECS Legal Affairs Committee comprises Attorneys-General from each OECS territory and meets twice a year to hold high-level discussions on harmonised legislative bills.”
AG Wilkin reported that the OECS Director General, Dr Didacus Jules, confirmed on July 6 the finalisation of the Customs Bill.
The Bill, he said, “is an important step in creating a truly single economic space by providing for goods to be moved between the OECS Member States seamlessly. This is an advanced step in furthering regional integration within the OECS.
We are addressing some high-level concerns and ensuring that the Prime Ministers can make a well-informed final decision when the bill is brought to them.”
If the Prime Ministers of the seven member states agree to go forward it will go towards reaffirming the Revised Treaty of Basseterre that established the OECS Economic Union in 2010 and constituted a single financial and economic space for goods, services, capital, enterprises, and the free movement of people throughout the Economic Union.
The 35th Meeting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Legal Affairs Committee concluded on July 7.
