THE GOVERNMENTS OF MEMBER STATES OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY
HAVING CONSIDERED it most desirable that an appropriately designated high honour should be instituted and be
conferred, from time to time, on nationals of Member States of the Community who have made outstanding contributions
to the development of the Caribbean Region;
DESIROUS of inaugurating the award of the honour at the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of
the Caribbean Community in 1991;
HEREBY AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
In this Agreement -
(a) "the Community" means the Caribbean Community;
(b) "the Conference" means the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community;
(c) "Member State" mean a Member State of the Caribbean Community;
(d) "national" means a person who -
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(i) is a citizen of a Member State; or
(ii) has a connection with a Member State; of a kind which entitles that person to be regarded as belonging to, or, if it be so
expressed, as being a native or resident of the Member State for the purposes of such laws thereof relating to immigration
as are for the time being in force;
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(e) "the Order" means the Order of the Caribbean Community.
ARTICLE II
INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY
The Order of the Caribbean Community is hereby instituted and shall consist of its members and every national of a
Member State upon whom the Order is conferred shall be a member of the Order.
ARTICLE III
ELIGIBILITY FOR APPOINTMENT TO MEMBERSHIP OF THE ORDER
1. Appointment to membership of the Order shall be reserved only for nationals of Member
States who have made outstanding contributions to the development of the Caribbean Region.
2. The award of membership of the Order may be conferred upon a person posthumously.
ARTICLE IV
AWARDS
Awards of membership of the Order shall be conferred by the Conference.
ARTICLE V
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
1. There shall be an Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") for the
purposes of the Order and shall be constituted as provided in paragraph 2.
2. The Committee shall consist of the following seven persons -
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(a) the Director General of the Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, or his representative,
representing those Member States of that Organisation which are Member States of the Caribbean Community;
(b) one representative of each of the other Member States of the Caribbean Community.
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3. The Committee shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among its members.
4. Five members of the Committee, including the Chairperson or the Deputy Chairperson shall
constitute a quorum at meetings of the Committee.
5. The Chairperson shall preside at meetings of the Committee and if the Chairperson is absent
from any meeting, the Deputy Chairperson shall preside.
6. The Committee shall meet at such times as the business of the Committee may require and
at such places as it may deem fit.
7. The Secretary-General of the Community shall provide administrative and secretarial
services for the Committee and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, he shall -
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(a) maintain records of the Order and of the proceedings of the Committee;
(b) arrange ceremonies for the conferring of the Order on members and perform such other functions in connection with
the Order as the Conference may direct, or the Committee may specify.
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8. Subject to the provisions of this Article, the Committee shall have power to regulate its own
proceedings.
ARTICLE VI
FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE
1. The Committee shall -
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(a) make investigations, as it thinks fit, to identify persons, whether living or dead, upon whom the Order may be
conferred;
(b) consider nominations of nationals of Member States made by Governments of Members States;
(c) submit to the Conference its recommendations for awards of membership of the Order and tender advice to the
Conference on any other matter concerning the Order.
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2. Nothing in paragraph 1 shall be construed as affecting the right of the Conference to confer
the award on a person who may not have been recommended by the Committee for the award.
ARTICLE VII
PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS OF THE ORDER
1. A member of the Order is entitled to -
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(a) be styled "Honourable" before that member's name and to have the suffix "o.c.c." placed after the name of the member;
(b) wear as a decoration on appropriate occasions the insignia, struck in gold, and the ribbon, of the Order;
(c) reside and engage in gainful occupation in any Member State and to acquire and dispose of property in the same
manner in all respects as citizens of any Member State;
(d) be issued with a travel document designed to facilitate travel within the Caribbean Community and which would enjoy
in every Member State a like status as a diplomatic passport issued by or on behalf of the Government of any such State.
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2. The spouse of a member of the Order and those children of a member who have not attained
the age of eighteen years shall be accorded the privilege conferred by paragraph 1(d).
3. A member of the Order shall be appropriately ranked in order of precedence at State and
official functions, while in a Member State, as may be decided by that Member State.
ARTICLE VIII
REGISTER OF MEMBERS OF THE ORDER
Each Member State shall cause to be kept a register of members of the Order and shall enter therein the names of persons
on whom the Order has been conferred showing the following particulars:
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(a) the full name, address and designation of the member of the Order;
(b) the date on which the Order was conferred.
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ARTICLE IX
IMPLEMENTATION
Each Member State hereby undertakes to take such action as is necessary to make effective in its territory the provisions of
this Agreement.
ARTICLE X
AUTHORITY OF THE CONFERENCE
The final authority for the interpretation or application of this Agreement is the Conference and pursuant thereto, it may,
from time to time, give directions for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Agreement.
ARTICLE XI
AMENDMENT
This Agreement may be amended by the Contracting Parties by decision of the Conference.
ARTICLE XII
SIGNATURE
This Agreement shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Community and shall be open for signature on behalf
of the Governments of Member States.
ARTICLE XIII
ENTRY INTO FORCE
This Agreement shall enter into force on signature on behalf of the Governments of all Member States.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the duly authorised representatives of the Contracting Parties have signed this Agreement.
DONE in a single copy which shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community who shall
transmit certified copies to all of the Contracting Parties.
Signed by: V.C. Bird
For the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
on the 7
th day of March, 1991 at St. John's, Antigua
Signed by: Lynden Pindling
For the Government of The Bahamas
on the 26
th day of February, 1991 at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Signed by: Maurice King
For the Government of Barbados
on the 14
th day of May, 1991
Signed by: George Price
For the Government of Belize
on the 26
th day of February, 1991 at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Signed by: M. Eugenia Charles
For the Government of Dominica
on 28
th day of May, 1991 at Roseau, Dominica
Signed by: Francis Alexis
For the Government of Grenada
on the 14
th day of May, 1991 at Bridgetown, Barbados
Signed by: H. Hoyte
For the Government of Guyana
on the 26
th day of February, 1991 at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Signed by:
For the Government of Jamaica
on the 26
th day of February, 1991 at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Signed by: J.A. Osborne
For the Government of Montserrat
on the 4
th day of March, 1991 at Plymouth, Montserrat
Signed by: Kennedy Simmonds
For the Government of Saint Christopher and Nevis
on the 8
th day of March, 1991 at Basseterre, St. Kitts
Signed by: J. Compton
For the Government of Saint Lucia
on the 26
th day of February, 1991 at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Signed by: J. Peters
For the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
on the 14
th day of May, 1991 at Dover Convention Centre, Barbados
Signed by: A.N.R. Robinson
For the Government of Trinidad and Tobago
on the 26
th day of February, 1991 at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
