Constitutional Reform in the Caribbean

Abstract

Some of the most fascinating developments in comparative public law have occurred over the last decade in the countries of the Caribbean, many having undertaken, successfully or not, historic processes of constitutional reform. Yet these developments have remained largely unexplored by scholars in the field outside of the region itself. In this Article, I offer an overview of some of the election-related recommendations made by special constitutional commissions convened by their governments to advise broadly on constitutional reform. My objective is twofold: first, to explain some of the momentous constitutional changes that may await the region; and second, to invite scholars of comparative public law to become more closely engaged with the Caribbean, a region that is ripe for comparative study and one that offers new possibilities for the study of constitutionalism beyond the conventional list of countries that today feature all too frequently in most if not all major studies of comparative public law.

Keywords: Constitutional Amendment, Caribbean, Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Electoral Reform, Election Law, Plurality Voting, Popular Recall, Monarchy, Republic, Colonial Constitution, Senate Reform, Campaign Finance, Official Opposition, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Prime Minister