Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President Justice Winston Anderson has rejected allegations that judges at the region’s highest court have been subjected to improper influence or that judicial panels have been manipulated to secure particular outcomes.

In a lengthy statement issued against the backdrop of reports of tensions among judges, Anderson said allegations of “panel fixing” and attempts to influence judgments were “wholly untrue”, while acknowledging that some of his own decisions could have been handled differently.

The controversy follows reports in the Sunday Express concerning alleged internal correspondence at the CCJ which reportedly raised concerns about relationships among judges, the Court’s administration and what one communication described as an increasingly “toxic” environment.