First of all, I have to express my gratitude to the organisers of this conference, for arranging it and for honouring me with an invitation, that gave me the opportunity to visit Cuba and the beautiful city of La Habana.

This presentation will not reflect a specific and focused research on a specific issue; neither will it aim at being a “road map” of sorts with a view to the regional legal integration of the Caribbean in commercial matters. It rather consists of a number of discrete ideas and themes for future research connected to the themes of regional legal integration through spontaneous law and ADR.

The question mark in the title is both in the sense that we actually ask ourselves whether such a regional body of law – soft or hard – does indeed exist; and in the sense that we wonder whether we should welcome it. I will assume that the answer to the latter question is positive: it is generally accepted that similar or even uniform rules are beneficial for the international business environment. The next question would then be what should we do to promote their development.