On March 29 and 30 at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill campus in Barbados, a trio of Queen’s Law alumni are bringing together academics, high-level jurists, international law specialists and foreign ministry legal advisors to explore “Law as an Engine for Development.”

UWI Dean of Law David Berry, LLM’93, is hosting the event he co-organized with Professor Art Cockfield, Law’93, of Queen’s Law, and Jeannette Tramhel, Law’87, Senior Legal Officer with the Organization of American States (OAS) – Secretariat for Legal Affairs, Department of International Law.  

This workshop, although the first to be held in the Caribbean, like others OAS has presented with teaching institutions, Tramhel says, “will enable professors of private and public international law from universities throughout the Americas to discuss and analyze different aspects relating to the Inter-American System as well as the teaching of law in their respective fields.”

When Cockfield, Berry and Tramhel began collaborating two years ago, the main workshop theme that emerged centred on international business, trade and tax. “These are important topics in the context of the Canada/Caribbean relationship,” says Tramhel. “However, with the introduction of Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy and with the focus of much of my own work at the OAS being economic inclusiveness, we came up with the idea to look at these issues through the lens of ‘Law as an Engine for Development.’”  

Marie Legault, High Commissioner of Canada in Barbados will deliver the keynote address on Canada’s policies for building an inclusive world. 

At the first panel on international business instruments for inclusive growth, moderator Tramhel will present examples of OAS law reform initiatives in private international law. “I will focus on two recent model laws adopted at the OAS – one on simplified incorporation and another on secured transactions,” she says. “In most of Latin America and the Caribbean, about half of all Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) operate in the informal sector (outside of the law). Making it ‘easy’ (and consequently, less costly) to incorporate and register a business will facilitate migration of these MSMEs to the formal sector and under the protection and regulation of the law, which is beneficial not only for these MSMES but also to society as a whole. 

“Similarly, making secured transactions ‘easy’ (and consequently less costly) is a real way of improving access to credit, especially for MSMEs and those who need it most. If the law – and that includes business law – does not address the real needs of the ‘other’ 50 per cent, it is important to discuss why.”  

The international tax panel, chaired by Cockfield, will discuss the changing nature of tax havens or international financial centres, as they are sometimes called. “Barbados is the most important offshore financial centre for Canadian businesses,” he says. “Governments around the world, including the Canadian government, are currently reviewing their relationship with these centres and how they are used to promote multinational firm tax avoidance and, potentially, offshore tax evasion. What benefits do they bring to the Canadian economy? And at what costs?”

Another panel led by Berry, author of Caribbean Integration Law, will focus on regional integration between Canada and the Caribbean. “This topic is critical for business in the Caribbean since, like Europe, trade relations are governed by a regional treaty framework that drills down to give rights to individual economic actors, including companies,” he says. He and other key actors in the Caribbean regional integration arena will help “inform some broader business and trade issues.”

Dean Bill Flanagan of Queen’s Law will chair a panel on international trade, in addition to delivering opening and closing remarks with Berry and OAS officials. 

Frank Walwyn, Law’93, a litigator of some of the most challenging business cases in Canada and the Caribbean as a partner with WeirFoulds LLP in Toronto, will lead a panel on bridging civil and common law traditions in teaching international law. 

Other Queen’s Law members participating in the conference are Professor Rob Yalden, St. Kitts-based corporate lawyer Hogarth Clauzel, Law’93, and PhD candidates Saro Persaud and Patrick Wells. 

For the program and to register, visit the UWI website. 

By Lisa Graham