News
Seminar on Competition Law and Policy for the OECS Sub-Region
Press Release
11 September 2019
Seminar on Competition Law and Policy for the OECS Sub-Region
Radisson Beach Resort, Grenada
16 September 2019
The CARICOM Competition Commission wishes to announce that there will be a one-day
seminar on competition law and policy for the countries of the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS) on 16th September 2019 at the Radisson Beach Resort in Grenada.
For the full press release please click here.
For the agenda, click here.
CARICOM Competition Commission Launches Regional Essay Competition
June 26, 2019
The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) was established under Article 171 of the Revised Treat of Chaguaramas (RTC) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In anticipation of the growth in trade and investments which was expected to emerge from the introduction of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), CARICOM took the decision to enhance its competition laws and policy and this was the basis for the introduction of the CCC.
The CCC was inaugurated in January 2008 and over the past decade of operations, it has been engaged in a number of events to promote fair competition and consumer protection in the region in execution of the mandate to facilitate the exchange of relevant information and expertise and develop and disseminate information about competition policy and consumer protection.
It is against this background that the CCC is launching its inaugural CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) Secondary School Essay Competition, targeting secondary school students between the ages of 12 and 19 years. To be eligible, participants must be resident in a CARICOM Member State. The categories and age as at the date of the deadline for essay submissions must be either:
- Category 1: 12-15 years
- Category 2: 16-19 years.
- “How does fair competition among businesses benefit me and my region?”
- “How does consumer protection law benefit me and my region?”
- 1st prize - USD1,000.00
- 2nd prize - USD750.00
- 3rd prize - USD500.00
Justice Christopher Blackman
Chairman
Update from CCC on Scotia Bank & Republic Bank transactions
World Consumer Rights Day 2019
Press Release
Wednesday 13 March
Justice Christopher Blackman
Chairman
CARICOM Competition Commission
Press Release From The CARICOM Competition Commission
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CARICOM COMPETITION COMMISSION
January 21st, 2019
APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SENIOR LEGAL COUNSEL AND REGISTRAR TO THE CARICOM COMPETITION COMMISSION (CCC)
The CCC was established to help enforce the CARICOM Rules of Competition and to regulate competition in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Its principle functions are to apply the rules of competition, promote competition, and to assist Member States to protect consumers.
The CARICOM Competition Commission (Commission) is pleased to announce the appointment of three senior professional staff members to its team in January 2019, to better enable the Commission to carry out its functions.
Ms. Nievia Ramsundar was appointed as the Executive Director of the Commission effective January 14, 2019. Ms. Ramsundar is an attorney at law with over 18 years’ experience in utilities, environmental and communications regulation, corporate law, intellectual property law and competition law. Ms. Ramsundar holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, University of the West Indies, Barbados; Legal Education Certificate, Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad; Postgraduate Diploma, Economics for Competition Law, Kings’ College, University of London; and Master of Laws from Queen Mary College, University of London.
Mr. Marc Jones joins the Commission from the Jamaica Fair Trading Commission where he served for over five years as an attorney at law in the areas of competition law investigations, litigation, regulatory and commercial practice. Mr. Jones holds a Bachelor of Laws, University of the West Indies, Barbados, Legal Education Certificate, Norman Manley Law School, Jamaica; Post Graduate Diploma in Competition Law, Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands; and a Master of Business Administration, Mona School of Business Administration, Jamaica.
Mrs. Deirdre Gosse served as the former Chief Executive Officer of the Registrar General’s Department, Jamaica, for a period of six years. She is an Attorney-at-Law, with over twenty years’ experience. Ms. Gosse holds a Bachelor of Laws, University of the West Indies, Barbados; Legal Education Certificate, Norman Manley Law School, Jamaica; Post Graduate Certificate in Strategic Management, University College of the Caribbean; Post-graduate Certificate in Telecommunications Policy and Management, University of the West Indies, Mona School of Business, Jamaica; and a Master of Laws, University of Strathclyde.
Justice Christopher Blackman
Chairman
CARICOM Competition Commission
CCC's 2019 Work Programme
CARICOM Competition Commission 2019 Work Programme
7 January 2019
The CCC's Workprogramme was approved at the 47th COTED meeting in November 2018.
For the full document, please click here.
STATEMENT: On The Sale of Banking and Insurance Assets by the Bank of Nova Scotia to Republic Financial Holdings and Sagicor Financial Corporation
December 5, 2018
CARICOM COMPETITION COMMISSION
Statement on
The sale of banking and insurance assets by the Bank of Nova Scotia to
Republic Financial Holdings and Sagicor Financial Corporation
The Commission in its monitoring of business activity in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), has taken note of the announcement on 28th November 2018 by the Bank of Nova Scotia (“Scotiabank”) of its intended transaction to sell banking assets in nine (9) English and Dutch speaking countries in the Caribbean.
For the full statement please click here.
CARICOM Competition Commission Work Programme January-September 2018 Performance
5 November 2018
CARICOM Competition Commission Work Programme January-September 2018 Performance
This report highlights the work of the CARICOM Competition Commission (Commission) for the period of January to September of 2018, in the areas of competition law and policy, and consumer welfare and protection of consumer interests in the CARICOM region. The work of the Commission is guided by the institution’s mandate under Chapter VIII of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC). Consequently, the document is structured to highlight the relevant provisions within the RTC under which each activity falls.
For the full report please click here.
Chairman Justice Blackman Pays Courtesy Call On Minister Stephen Tsang Of Suriname
PRESS RELEASE
September 06, 2018
Chairman Justice Blackman Pays Courtesy Call On Minister Stephen Tsang Of Suriname
Chairman Blackman (r) and Minister Tsang (l)
In his first official visit to Paramaribo, Suriname, the new Chairman of the CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) Justice Christopher Blackman made a courtesy call on Minister Stephen Tsang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism with responsibility for competition and consumer protection on 04 September 2018.
Chairman Blackman and Minister Tsang covered a range of topics of interest to the Republic of Suriname and the CCC including competition law, consumer protection, regional trade arrangement, and regional transportation for goods and people.
The courtesy call was informative and allowed both delegations to identify future areas of cooperation in competition and trade policy. Chairman Blackman thanked the Minister for the support provided by the Republic of Suriname to the headquarters of the CARICOM Competition Commission. Minister Tsang expressed his governments continued support for the CCC and the other CARICOM institutions headquartered in Suriname.
Press Release:CARICOM Competition Commission Appoints New Chairman And Member
PRESS RELEASE
July 26, 2018
CARICOM COMPETITION COMMISSION APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN AND MEMBER
The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) is pleased to announce the appointment of new Chairman Justice Christopher Blackman (Ret.) and Member, Mr. Anthony LaRonde. The Commissioners were sworn in by the Honorable Mr. Justice Adrian Saunders, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and Chairman of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), and witnessed by outgoing Chairman of the CCC, Dr. Kusha Haraksingh.
Mr. Justice Christopher Blackman, GCM is a former non-resident Justice of Appeal of the Belize Court of Appeal who served from October 1, 2014 to September 2017. He was also a Justice of the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas, serving from March 1, 2008 to December 5, 2014. He served as a High Court Judge of Barbados (2003-2008) and Belize (2001-2003). He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1987, served as President of the Barbados Bar Association (1983-86) and as an Independent Senator (1986-1990) in the Barbados Parliament. In the 2000 Barbados Independence Honours List, he was awarded the Gold Crown of Merit for law and public service.
Anthony P. La Ronde is a Barrister at Law, Solicitor Mediator and Notary Public and was called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Dominica) in 1985. As a Barrister at Law and Solicitor he held the positions, on full establishment, as a State Attorney, Parliamentary Draftsman, Chief Parliamentary Draftsman and Attorney General (1995 to 2002) in the Commonwealth of Dominica. From 2005 to 2009 he was the Officer in Charge/Director of the CARICOM Legislative Drafting Facility at the Secretariat. From January 2016 to January 2018, he served the Government of Anguilla in the capacity of Chief Parliamentary Counsel.
The incoming Commissioners have been appointed for a term of five years in the first instance. They join sitting Commissioners Mr. Eversley Decourcey, Mr. Nestor Alfred, Professor Andrew Downes and Emalene Marcus-Burnett.
The CCC was established to enforce Community Competition Policy under Chapter 8 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. The CCC’s principle functions are to apply the rules of competition to anti-competitive cross-border business conduct, promote and protect competition in the Community, and to use advocacy to support and assist Member States in protecting consumers in the CSME.