St. Lucia plans to lobby fellow members of the Caribbean...

St. Lucia plans to lobby fellow members of the Caribbean Community to set up the Caribbean Court of Justice as soon as possible, to replace the Privy Council in London as the final arbiter of the islands' laws, Prime Minister Kenny Anthony said.
Anthony concurred with former Prime Minister John Compton, who earlier said the role of the Privy Council is to defend the laws of St. Lucia and not to impose its prejudices on the country.
Compton, who headed the United Workers Party government for close to 30 years, spoke in reaction to the Privy Council's decision to strike down the mandatory death sentence imposed on those convicted of murder in the Eastern Caribbean.
Revoking St. Lucia's laws regarding capital punishment is the sole prerogative of the government and the people of St. Lucia, an independent state, Compton told reporters.
"If we want to revoke the laws relating to murder, let the Parliament and the people of St. Lucia so decide through their Parliament, but not through the Privy Council," the former prime minister said.
The governments of Jamaica and Barbados have reacted similarly to the Privy Council ruling, saying that they will not be bound by the ruling of the Law Lords.