I guess regular readers of the Jamaican Tory have been
wondering, where I have been for over half a year now and more importantly what
could have been so urgent to call their favourite blogger back into action after all this time. For those who have been following the news, it is no
secret that the Jamaican Parliament is preparing to vote on the long stinging
issue of the final court of appeal. Chapter VII of Jamaica’s constitution
states that final judicial authority is rest with the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council in London which also serves as a final court for several other
Commonwealth countries. This arrangement has not seated well with several
segments of the political elite who wish to remove this part of our
constitution and replace the court with something more local.
Ironically the
alternative is not truly local at all but instead the dissenters prefer to turn
to the Trinidad based Caribbean Court of Justice which was set up via the 2005
Revised Treaty of Chagaramus (RTC). The court already has primary jurisdiction
over matters relating to the RTC and other matters relating to other internal CARICOM
affairs. It also serves as the final court for CARICOM states such as Belize,
Barbados and Guyana whilst other countries are considering joining the courts
appellate jurisdiction.
I know what I’m going to say next will shock many of my
readers but personally speaking I have no real problem with establishing the
CCJ as the final court of appeal in Jamaica providing the proper channels are
followed. I have listened to arguments both for and against the removal of the
JCPC and so have come to this stance. Having the CCJ as a final court would
give us better access to the final court of jurisdiction as it would cost individuals
far less to travel to Port of Spain for appeals as opposed to travelling to London. 2. Should all CARICOM states accept the CCJ it would bind us even closer as a
regional unit which was always the aim of CARICOM and especially the CSME. 3. As
a member of CARICOM member, Jamaica is already obliged to contribute to the
upkeep of the CSME, so why not make use of it given that we still have to pay for it in any case. 4. It is
no secret the JCPC would much prefer to lessen the appeals coming to them from
Commonwealth (especially Caribbean) states, they have said as much in the past,
so in other words it’s really a case of no love lost should we leave.
Regardless of all said above, it is totally unacceptable for any government that decides that
it’s going to run roughshod over the people and do as it likes without following
the proper procedure, this is precisely what the People’s National Party is
trying to do by insisting that a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament is enough pass such a law. How convenient for
them to come up with this idea, knowing perfectly well that they already hold
such a majority in both House and Senate. As Andrew Holness and the Jamaican
Labour Party have constantly pointed out (and rightly so) is that the people
should be ones to decide for themselves what they want in a referendum. The
constitution has always firmly upheld that it is right of the Queen’s subjects
of appeal to their Sovereign and to have judgements rendered on the Queen’s
behalf by the Lords of Her Majesty’s Council. How dare any government presume
to take away that right without consulting the people who will be affected by
this? I have heard arguments for and against the JCPC or CCJ and also for and
against the referendum. Whilst I take some of the arguments for removing the
Privy Council into consideration, nobody has ever been able to convince me as
to why the people shouldn’t have a say in the matter, and to imagine that this
is the same PNP that campaigned on the notion of “People Power”, only goes to
show what a bunch of hypocrites they are.
And while on the topic of hypocrisy, I cannot help but
wonder if this is what my regular readers would think of me, given that I’m
well known to be a monarchist and have proudly reiterated that fact time and
again. Contrary to popular opinion, removal of the JCPC is not and has never
been akin to republicanism. In fact moving
the CCJ might well serve to strengthen the monarchy’s position rather than
weaken it. Republicans have always loved to hearken on the matter of judicial sovereignty
as an excuse to get rid of the monarchy, having a judicial authority vested in
the CCJ whilst retaining the monarchical form of government will then show that
such a system can work and so prove republicans for the liars that they truly
are as has been the case in Belize and Barbados where the CCJ serves of the
final court of appeal yet republican sentiment is significantly weak on the
flip side of the coin there is Dominica and Trinidad (yes you read that right,
the very same Trinidad which is the headquarters of the CCJ) both of which have
been republics since the 1970s and yet still continue to appeal to the Privy
Council.
In closing I have but several questions to ask of those who
support the PNP’s position “ Why keep stalling on the referendum?”, If they
were so confident that what they are doing was truly in the people’s best interest, then why not just
get the referendum over and done with? “What are they so afraid of?” “Is it
that they have so little faith in Jamaicans to choose their own destinies?”
Parliament is supposed to our representatives not our overlords and therefore
they have absolutely no right to make any such changes to our constitution without
seeking the approval of the will of the people.
