Caribbean leaders and jurists have sought to downplay the regional impact of a ruling by the Privy Council that struck down Jamaican legislation adopting the Caribbean court of justice as the country's highest court. "We are going ahead with plans for the inauguration (of the CCJ), hopefully in April," the court's first president, Michael de la Bastide, told BBC Caribbean Radio. He said the decision was a disappointment but was isolated to Jamaica. "It has no impact whatsoever on Trinidad and Tobago or Barbados or any of the other countries." The Caricom secretariat in Georgetown initially issued a release saying the ruling had the potential for profound adverse effects on the establishment of the CCJ and the single market and economy. The CCJ will be the court of arbitration for the single market while most governments intend for it to become the final court of appeal on criminal and civil matters, replacing the privy council in London. But the Caricom secretary general Edwin Carrington later issued a more positive assessment. He said the ruling should not derail efforts to open the court, noting it did not "bar other countries from accessing the court." Independent Trinidad's Parliament voted Wednesday to adopt the Caribbean court - but only to settle matters related to the planned regional single market. Guyana's parliament voted in November to replace the Guyana Court of Appeal with the Caribbean court. Guyana was the only English-speaking Caribbean to shed the Privy Council after it became independent. The Privy Council ruled Thursday that the Jamaican Parliament did not follow constitutional procedures when it passed three bills last year to establish the CCJ. In effect the ruling said the change should have been approved by a popular referendum or a special parliamentary majority. Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson - who has rejected calls for a referendum - said he would meet with his Cabinet to determine how to respond to the ruling. "We remain committed to having a Caribbean court which will ... eventually be the final appellate body for all the commonwealth countries of the Caribbean," Mr. Patterson said. The Caribbean court's advocates say it will bolster sovereignty in the region by shedding the colonial-era Privy Council. Trade matters But critics, particularly in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, have expressed concerns about whether the CCJ will be sufficiently independent from political pressure. Mr de la Bastide has in the past rejected such concerns. He said there were no problems with all participating single market nations accessing the CCJ in adjudicating on trade matters. In fact, Jamaica can, if it so wishes, pass legislation by a simple majority making the CCJ a court of first instance for regional disputes. "As far as the appellate jurisdiction is concerned, it merely means that Jamaica faces, if you like the same hurdle that most of the Caribbean faces, in that in order to replace the Privy Council you have to get the specified majority (in parliament)." St. Lucia's prime minister, Kenny Anthony, who has lead responsibility in Caricom for justice and governance issues, said that Barbados and Guyana can proceed almost immediately to allow the CCJ to hear appeals in respect of civil and criminal matters. In the OECS, the St. Lucia leader said, there were important differences especially in entrenched constitutional provisions. Reprinted from bbccaribbean.com