Caribbean Leaders Inaugurate Own Court

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - Caribbean leaders inaugurated a court Saturday that will serve as the highest judicial body for much of the region, a step toward shedding their 170-year-old dependence on Britain's Privy Council that many have resented as a vestige of colonialism.

Saturday's inauguration came after years of delays and despite political and legal obstacles still facing several countries trying to remove themselves from the jurisdiction of the London-based Privy Council.

``It's a birth that has not been without complications,'' said Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide.

Details here from the AP via the Guardian Unlimited.