Court Library

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About the Library

The mission of the Library of the Caribbean Court of Justice is to provide access to legal knowledge and information consistent with the present and anticipated research needs of the Court.

The Library which is primarily reference was set up in 2005 to support the information needs of the Court and the practicing bar in the contracting member states of the Caribbean Community.

The Library’s collection consists of both primary and secondary materials from the English-speaking Caribbean and Suriname as well as from Commonwealth jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Holdings are in both print and electronic format. The materials in the library are classified using the Moys Classification Scheme for Legal Materials.

Contact Details

Caribbean Court of Justice Library
134 Henry Street
Port of Spain
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Telephone: (868) 623-2225, ext. 4263
Fax: (868) 625-4269; (868) 627-8259
E-mail: library@ccj.org

Staff

Jacinth Smith
Chief Librarian
Tel: (868) 623 2225, ext. 4251
Email: jsmith@ccj.org

Sheryl Washington-Vialva
Deputy Librarian
Tel: (868) 623 2225, ext. 3235
Email: swashingtonvialva@ccj.org

LéShaun Salandy
Library Assistant
Tel: (868) 623 2225, ext. 4263
Email: lsalandy@ccj.org

Hours

Service is provided from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Access

The collection is available for use by Judges and staff of the Caribbean Court of Justice, judicial officers of other courts, and attorneys-at-law and their representatives. Other individuals wishing to use the Library must apply in advance of their visit for permission.

Services

The Library provides a range of library and information services to its users. A photocopying service is available at a cost of TTD 0.50 per exposure.
Computers are available for catalogue searches, internet access and general use.

The Library subscribes to a number of databases for legal research. Access is by password.

Carilaw
Full text of most of the unreported judgments from all Commonwealth Caribbean territories.

Hein Online
Comprehensive coverage from inception of a large collection of law and law-related materials available in an online, fully searchable, image-based format. Access is provided to the following:

English Reports
Foreign & International Law Resources Database
Law Journal Library
Legal Classics
Revised Statutes of Canada
United Nations Law Collection
Women and the Law
World Constitutions Illustrated
World Treaty Library

Justcite
A legal citatory which cross-references cases, legislation and journal articles from all major online legal data providers, including Justis, LexisNexis, Westlaw, BAILII and < Casetrack. It covers all major case law series from the UK and Ireland, as well as EU law and an increasing number of titles from common law jurisdictions around the world.

LexisLibrary
Full text UK cases including the Law Reports, All England Law Reports, West Indian Reports and the Law Reports of the Commonwealth as well as legislation, journal articles, legal commentary and forms and precedents. Access is provided to Halsbury’s Law of England, Atkins Court Forms and the Encyclopedia of Forms and Precedents.

Westlaw
UK, US, EU and international legal material including cases, legislation, journal articles, leading texts, news and newspapers.

Current Awareness Bulletin
Our Current Awareness Bulletin is now compiled every three months. It highlights new titles and legislation received at the Library from the Caribbean countries. Our Bulletins for the year 2020 are below:

No. 1 January – March 2020

Nos. 2 & 3 April – September 2020

No. 4 October – December 2020

Caribbean – Online Judgments