The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has two regional court systems, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Caribbean Court of Justice. A product of political and economic integration, each court has taken a different evolutionary path resulting in different constitutional arrangements, but neither make nationality a criterion for appointment to judicial office. This chapter considers the concept of ‘foreignness’ in relation to these two regional Caribbean courts. It draws on the results of structured interviews with judicial officers and attorneys from across the region to analyse perceptions about the significance of judges’ nationality to the quality of judging and public expectations. The findings suggest that – in the Caribbean context which is shaped by regionalism, small communities and the legacies of colonialism – nationality does not matter as much as the impartiality, competency, and efficiency of the judge.

The Caribbean women’s rights agenda has been framed by the broader agenda of international platforms for action ‘adapted to national and regional priorities’. Yet the Caribbean feminist agenda is hardly present in international trade discussions and negotiations. The chapter will examine the development of gender equality/feminism in the Caribbean and its intersections with trade; highlight and examine the current feminist agenda in the Caribbean; and ultimately consider whether and if so how that agenda manifests itself in domestic and regional policy and practice in the Caribbean. It will do so against the backdrop of broader efforts internationally to mainstream gender and will make recommendations about how the Caribbean should approach trade and gender in the future.