KINGSTON – Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson is disagreeing with a proposal from the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) that Jamaica should establish its own final court of appeal.
On Tuesday, the JLP’s spokesman on Justice, Senator Alexander Williams,suggested that instead of using the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate Court, Jamaica should establish a domestic court as its final court of appeal.
He said this would be an additional court, superior to the existing Jamaican Court of Appeal, and of which the members would not necessarily be confined to Jamaican jurists.
This development would take Jamaica out of the realm of the UK based Privy Council, while not acceding to the Appellate division of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as an alternative. This position was adopted by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding when the JLP was in power, but it was never widely accepted.
In responding to the suggestion, Patterson says he is not persuaded by the arguments put forward by the opposition. “The former administration under then Prime Minister Golding did a study and prepared a position which i have had the opportunity of seeing. The arguments advanced for a final court seemed to me to be weak, tenuous and unconvincing” said Patterson, who is a fervent advocate of the CCJ.
Patterson also added that other factors such as the huge cost to set up such a court, are prohibitive.
This position in favour of a local final court was initially raised by Golding, several years ago, but the idea evoked negative public responses and was never widely accepted.
Since then, the JLP had consistently avowed a position in favour of the CCJ as the final appellate court, but with the caveat that it must first get the approval of the Jamaican people be done by way of a referendum.
The party has adopted the position that Jamaica should establish its own final appellate court.
“We, at this point in time, do not see the need to remove ourselves from the Privy Council before setting up that Jamaican final Court of Appeal”, Williams said.
Two months ago Patterson recommended a two-step approach to achieving that end.
In an address to the Jamaican Bar Association last November, the former Prime Minister suggested that the answer to the dilemma of how to withdraw from the Privy Council and establish a final court for Jamaica might be to “separate the package.”
He elaborated that the idea would be to first withdraw from the Privy Council, temporarily leaving the existing Jamaican Court of Appeal as the country’s final appellate body.
Thereafter, steps would be taken, in short order, to restore another tier of appeals by acceding to the appellate division of the CCJ.
Patterson based his recommendation on the judgment of the Privy Council in 2005, in the appeal against the manner in which his government had gone about seeking to establish the CCJ as the country’s final appellate court.
But Williams rejected Patterson’s recommendation, saying he did not agree with removing the third-tier court.
The emerging JLP position would see Jamaica, not eventually advancing to the CCJ, as recommended by Patterson, but creating a new Jamaican court, superior to the existing Court of Appeal, which would serve as the country’s final appellate court, and would be deeply entrenched in the Constitution. (CMC)
