BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 04, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ recent achievement of being ranked number 1 in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and 30 out of 126 countries worldwide in the 2019 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index were today, Monday, March 4, acknowledged and applauded by the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Dame Janice Pereira, DBE.
Chief Justice Pereira was at the time delivering remarks at the opening ceremony of the practical mediation skills training course at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel.
The Honourable Dame Pereira referenced an article headlined, “Antigua and Barbuda Gets High World Ranking for Rule of Law,” which stated that Antigua and Barbuda ranked number 3 in the Caribbean and number 33 among 126 countries in the world.
“But here is what is interesting, that state ranked behind your Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis and so what that means is that the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis ranked higher amongst the 126 countries studied,” the Chief Justice stated.
The WJP Rule of Law Index measures countries’ rule of law performance across eight factors namely: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.
“This is therefore extremely good news for this small Federation, and it is news worth spreading,” Her Ladyship added.
“Antigua’s Ambassador to the United States made sure to point out the significance of this ranking in making Antigua and Barbuda attractive for investment and tourism. St. Kitts and Nevis therefore, has even better reasons for making this argument,” the Honourable Dame Pereira said.
The report also ranked Saint Lucia 38th, St. Vincent and the Grenadines 35th, Dominica 45th and Grenada 43rd. The Bahamas places 39th, Barbados 29th, Jamaica 50th, Trinidad and Tobago 55th, Guyana 75th, and Dominican Republic 95th.