CSME and The Arts Vol.1|1

by Graham Lewis

CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) is a new initiative in the Caribbean that will enhance economies by encouraging free trade among member islands. The legal basis for the operation of CSME is provided by the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas—originally signed on the July 4, 1973. The treaty established the Caribbean Community whose members now consist of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Caribbean Court of Justice, formed in 2005, was designed to settle disputes regarding the legal interpretation of the treaty. This includes disputes between two parties belonging to different member states. These inter-island disputes will inevitably emerge with free trade, and the Court of Justice is the final arbiter in these matters.

The issue of redress as it relates to dispute settlement will be tested in the near-term, since the practice of piracy pervades Caribbean society. Plagiarism is a concern for most artists in the world, moreso in the Caribbean. With a relaxed attitude toward copyright infringement, it is easy for vendors to sell burned CDs and DVDs on the side of the road without fear of being reprimanded. Artists and designers are given less respect, and often find themselves falling victim to reproduction of their work without permission or use of artwork without payment. This problem will only get worse as the economies become more integrated, so there must be appropriate methods of dispute resolution overseen by the Caribbean Court of Justice.

In cases like these, the proper harmonization of laws under the CSME is a welcome change. The hope is that the region will support the need to provide adequate protection and satisfactory redress to those whose work continues to be plagiarized. Whether in music, fine art, design, photography or choreography, the employment of internationally accepted modes of dispute settlement will ensure economic benefits due to any infringements.

Artists worldwide need to safeguard their work and seek compensation through the appropriate channels to avoid frustration and the demoralizing effects that piracy often imposes. While a Judicial system exists in the individual islands, the proliferation of intra-regional trade has created a need to recognize the Caribbean Court of Justice as a deterrent to perpetrators of the Law in trade and economic matters. Creative individuals in the region crave the need to protect their work and earning capability. Without such a comprehensive system in place, small business’ and poorer member States will continue to be disadvantaged by virtue of size and capacity to retaliate.