The
OECS Trade Law Database is the direct result of a request
made by OECS countries to the Organisation of American States
(OAS) for assistance. These countries indicated that a major
constraint to meeting FTAA/WTO obligations was the inability
of their private sectors to identify local legislation which
has a direct impact on commercial activities, and the inability
of trading partners to access local laws designed to facilitate
trade and commerce in the region.
The Trade Unit
of the OAS was aware that the Faculty of Law Library of
the University of the West Indies houses one of the most
complete collections of the investment and trade laws of
the region. It had also received information that the Library
was executing a U.S. AID-funded project for digitization
of regional case law, legislation and treaties, and therefore
had the expertise and experience to develop a database of
trade legislation from the OECS sub-region. The OAS obtained
a grant from the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) to finance the establishment of the database at the
Faculty of Law Library, and a memorandum of understanding
was signed in October 2004 by the Principal of the Cave
Hill Campus and a representative of the OAS Trade Unit.
OECS Trade Law Database at the Cave Hill Campus.
Under the project,
the OECS legislation pertaining to trade and commerce is
being identified, scanned and edited for inclusion in the
database. Initially, the project will focus on the Acts
of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and
Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Any
amendments which have not been incorporated into the main
text of the parent Act during law revision exercises will
be published at the end of the parent Act.
The subsidiary
legislation of the six countries included in the OECS Trade
Law Database will be added at a later date.
OECS Trade Law
will be available free of charge to OAS staff, OECS policy
makers, UWI law students and law teachers and at low cost
to other users.
Senator the Hon.
Velma Newton, SCM
Professor of Law Librarianship
Faculty of Law Library
University of the West Indies
October 2004