The Cayman Islands Human Rights committee
held the first of a series of lectures at the South Sound Community
Centre on Thursday.
The speaker was Lord Anthony Gifford, QC; an internationally renowned human rights advocate.
Sara Collins of the Human Rights Committee introduced the speaker.
“Lord Gifford is the type of advocate whose
career encourages and inspires young advocates. He exemplifies the best
of our noble profession, which is unfortunately too often consumed here
and elsewhere, with subjects such as mutual funds and offshore trusts,
to be concerned with the plight of the common man.”
Lord Gifford discussed why he believed a charter of basic rights and freedoms would be a positive development for Cayman.
“At the moment, unless you go to the European
Court in Strasbourg, there is no way of enforcing fundamental rights,
which are not mirrored in the law. So rights are important because all
of us may find that, at some time in our lives, we are on the wrong
side of someone who has overridden our right to a fair hearing, our
right to freedom of expression, our right to association; many of these
fundamental rights, which have been enshrined in so many conventions
around the world and I think it has been shown that they do add to the
confidence a society can have in it’s justice system.”
When Lord Gifford invited questions from the
public, it was perhaps surprisingly not controversial issues like gay
rights or religious freedom that were raised.
Subjects that came up for discussion included
areas such as the situation of Cuban boat people and the public’s right
of access to a reasonably priced hearing in the civil courts. One
member of the public pointed out that “anyone bringing a case to the
civil court must come up with $750 a day to get a hearing.”
Lord Gifford responded saying “he was deeply
shocked to hear that was indeed the situation here in the Cayman
Islands, because if that rule was administered without exception it
would have the effect of denying justice to persons without financial
means. He added that one of the fundamental rights of the individual is
the right of access to an independent and impartial court.”
The next lecture is scheduled for 28. It will
focus on the development and evolution of human rights in the Caribbean
Region. Renowned jurist Lloyd Barnett has agreed to deliver that
address and once again the public is welcome to attend.