From CARIBBEAN360

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Wednesday May 13, 2015 – Jamaica cleared the first hurdle to becoming the fifth Caribbean country to replace London’s Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), after the House of Representatives yesterday passed three bills needed to make it happen.

All 42 government MPs, including the Speaker of the House Michael Peart, and the 21 opposition MPs showed up for the vote yesterday and stuck firmly to their parties’ positions.

Peart had to cast his vote to ensure the government side had the two-thirds majority it needed to pass the Constitution (Amendment) (Caribbean Court of Justice) bill which amends the Constitution to repeal provisions relating to appeals to the Privy Council and replace them with provisions establishing the CCJ as Jamaica’s final court.

Also getting the green light, but needing only a simple majority in the 63-seat Parliament, were: the Caribbean Court of Justice Act which makes provisions for establishing the CCJ as a superior court of record with appellate jurisdiction; and the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Act which repeals provisions for appeals to the Privy Council and excludes any appeals to the Privy Council instituted prior to implementation of the regional court.

The three now have to get the approval of the Senate where the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) does not have a two-thirds majority. There are 13 government senators and eight senators from the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the Upper House, which means at least one JLP senator would have to break ranks.

The Opposition has insisted the matter of whether the country should say goodbye to the Privy Council and turn to the CCJ as its final court of appeal be put to a referendum.

The Caribbean Court of Justice was inaugurated on April 16, 2005.

While CARICOM member states have accepted it in its original jurisdiction, only Barbados, Guyana, Belize and, more recently, Dominica have acceded to its appellate jurisdiction.

In a statement issued after the passing of the bills, CCJ President Sir Dennis Byron said: “The CCJ continues to follow very closely these developments in Jamaica with the highest respect and regard for the local constitutional processes. We look forward with great anticipation to a positive outcome that will ultimately afford Jamaican citizens with greater access to the Caribbean’s court.”

IMAGE: Jamaica parliament

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