“Yes,[We Bow,] But not a Deep Bow:” Qualia and the Thinkability of Caribbean Jurisprudence

Abstract

Drawing from fourteen months of ethnographic research, this article offers an analysis of the Caribbean Court of Justice’s (CCJ) efforts to develop Caribbean jurisprudence as an example of how the work of postcolonial courts might be understood not as mimesis, but as productive qualia-tative labor. The semiotic concept of qualia helps to refocus attention on the deliberate “Caribbeanness” that the CCJ endeavors to combine with already well-established “courtly” features, such as deferential courtroom bows and familiar judicial robes. The article argues that by thoughtfully weaving together Caribbean and courtly qualities, the CCJ works to develop Caribbean jurisprudence by making it sensible – that is, both comprehensible and experienceable.