Saint Lucia's new Commercial Court division of the High Court may positively impact the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" assessment of Saint Lucia.

So said Compete Caribbean's Business Climate Reforms Coordinator, Tara Persaud. Compete Caribbean's is the donor agency for the new Commercial Court.

According to Persaud, improvements in the efficiency of contract enforcement will make Saint Lucia more competitive regionally and internationally.

"From a regional perspective, over the last several years Saint Lucia has actually been doing quite well in the World Bank’s "Doing Business" reports.  In fact, Saint Lucia led these rankings within CARIFORUM in 2012, 2013 and 2014. It dropped in 2015 but rebounded again in the 2016 rankings.

"In the region, the areas that really seem to challenge the Caribbean are the indicators for getting credit, registering property, resolving insolvency and enforcing contracts. And while Saint Lucia leads the Caribbean in registering property, it has been lagging on enforcing contracts."

Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Her Ladyship Dame Janice Pereira said an increasing number of multilateral organizations are conducting business in the region.

Referring to her address at the opening of the 2013/2014 Law Year, she said it is imperative to continue to encourage such investors, for economic growth.

"I stressed the fact that the effective and efficient operation of our court is pivotal and integral to ensuring investor confidence and must be seen and embraced as one of the propellers for driving economic growth in any country," she said. 

The Commercial Court is located at La Place Carenage on Jeremie Street, Castries.