Caribbean Community
Regional · CARICOM
Carib came into English in the 1550s from the Spanish caribe, a word of the Lesser Antilles. The sea took the name, and the adjective followed. The Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed in Trinidad on 4 July 1973 and came into force on 1 August. Three members stand on the American mainland, one is a British territory, and English is not official in Haiti or Suriname.
15 countries
- Antigua and BarbudaJoined 1974.
- BahamasJoined 1983.
- BarbadosJoined 1973.
- BelizeJoined 1974.
- DominicaJoined 1974.
- GrenadaJoined 1974.
- GuyanaJoined 1973.
- HaitiJoined 2002.
- JamaicaJoined 1973.
- MontserratJoined 1974.
- Saint Kitts and NevisJoined 1974.
- Saint LuciaJoined 1974.
- Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesJoined 1974.
- SurinameJoined 1995.
- Trinidad and TobagoJoined 1973.
Common questions
Questions about CARICOM
Which countries are members of CARICOM?
The 15 states and territories listed on this page, taken from each country's own record. Four signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas on 4 July 1973, six more on 17 April 1974, Antigua and St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla later that year, the Bahamas in 1983, Suriname in 1995 and Haiti in 2002. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, French Guiana, Martinique and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associate members and are not counted here.
Is the Bahamas part of the CARICOM single market?
No. The Bahamas joined the Community in 1983 without joining the Common Market, and it did not sign the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas of 5 July 2001 that replaced the Common Market with the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. It is a member of the Community and takes no part in the single market or in the free movement of people that goes with it.
Why is Montserrat a member when it is not an independent country?
Because the treaty admits territories as well as states. Montserrat signed on 17 April 1974 as a British dependency and has been a full member since 1 May that year, which makes it the one member that is not a United Nations member state. It has not acceded to the Revised Treaty: a British Overseas Territory needs an instrument of entrustment from the United Kingdom before it can, and the Community was still recording the accession as outstanding in July 2015.
Do all CARICOM members use the Caribbean Court of Justice as their final court?
No, and the Court's two jurisdictions have different lists behind them. The original jurisdiction, which interprets the Revised Treaty, binds every state party to the agreement of 14 February 2001. The appellate jurisdiction, which replaces the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, has been accepted by Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and Saint Lucia. For the other Commonwealth members the final appeal is still heard in London.
Can a CARICOM national live and work in another member state?
Entry is settled and residence is not. On 4 October 2013 the Caribbean Court of Justice held that a national of one member state may enter another without harassment or impediment and stay for up to six months, resting the right on the Revised Treaty and on a decision the Conference of Heads of Government took in 2007. Working and settling run through the single market instead, which the Bahamas is outside and Montserrat has not acceded to.
Sources
- Treaty Establishing the Caribbean Community · CARICOM Secretariat, the treaty's own depositary. Signature at Chaguaramas on 4 July 1973, entry into force on 1 August 1973, and the table of signature, ratification and accession dates for every member, including Montserrat and St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla with no ratification recorded.
- Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas Establishing the Caribbean Community, Including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy · CARICOM Secretariat. Signature at Nassau on 5 July 2001, entry into force on 1 January 2006, and the signature and ratification table that carries no entry for the Bahamas or Montserrat.
- Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice · CARICOM Secretariat. Signature at St Michael, Barbados on 14 February 2001, entry into force on 23 July 2002, and the twelve states party to it.
- History and Jurisdiction of the Court · Caribbean Court of Justice. The inauguration at Queen's Hall, Port of Spain on 16 April 2005, and the distinction between the original and the appellate jurisdiction.
- Frequently asked questions · Caribbean Court of Justice. The states that have acceded to the appellate jurisdiction, and the states bound by the original jurisdiction.
- Shanique Myrie v The State of Barbados, [2013] CCJ 3 (OJ) · Caribbean Court of Justice, judgment of 4 October 2013. The right of a Community national to enter and stay for up to six months, and the 2007 decision of the Conference of Heads of Government it rests on.
- Member States and Associate Members · CARICOM Secretariat. The roster of members and the eight associate members, including Curacao, French Guiana and Martinique.
- Who We Are · CARICOM Secretariat. The founding on 4 July 1973 and the seat of the Secretariat at Turkeyen, Georgetown, Guyana.
- Montserrat continuing move towards CARICOM Single Market and Economy · CARICOM Secretariat, July 2015. The record that Montserrat had not yet acceded to the Revised Treaty, and the entrustment a British Overseas Territory needs before it can.
- CARICOM · Jamaica Information Service. The Bahamas admitted to the Community in 1983 but not to the Common Market.
- Carib, Caribbean · Online Etymology Dictionary. Carib in English from the 1550s, from the Spanish caribe, and the adjective Caribbean from the 1750s.