Letter of the Day | Critical to educate youths about Constitution reform
Published:Friday | April 28, 2023 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
The new constitution will be a very important guide for the future development of our country. In particular, the youths of our country will be most affected by the new constitution, and, therefore, there should be discussion groups and debates taking place at every school and university.
There are 10 chapters in the 2011 version of the revised constitution and it is important to examine each chapter and for us to think about what we would like to see changed and what we would like to see either remained or be strengthened. To give some examples, below is a summary of each chapter and what each contains.
1. Preliminary: This essentially comprises definitions of terms used throughout the document and will require review and revision as several references to the Queen or governor-general will need to be purged.
2. Citizenship: This defines who is or can become a citizen of Jamaica and though a review is necessary, this chapter probably requires few amendments.
3. Fundamental rights & freedoms: This chapter was extensively revised in 2011 and describes in detail the basic rights and freedoms of every Jamaican. These rights and freedoms can be reviewed in order to be strengthened. They should, however, in no way be weakened. The rights, freedoms and protections guaranteed in this new 2011 chapter significantly modified and enhanced the provisions in the 1962 constitution.
4. Governor-general: This chapter essentially deals with the office of the governor general and will need extensive rewriting and basic decisions regarding our future head of State and whether we need a separate head of state and prime minister.
5. Parliament: This chapter details the composition and rules of the Parliament and the Senate, which needs to be the focus of the major revisions of the constitution.
6. Executive powers: This details the executive authority of the Government of Jamaica including cabinet and ministers’ tenure and responsibilities and will require detailed review.
7. Judicature: This covers the Supreme Court, appointment and tenure of Judges and court of appeal and the final court of appeal being the Privy Council and needs revision to recognise the CCJ as our court of final appeal.
8. Finance: This sets out the structure and organisation of the finances of the country and needs to be reviewed, but maybe not as extensively as other chapters above.
9. Public service: This chapter details the various public service organisations and the rules covering their operation and does require review and updating.
10. Miscellaneous: This covers areas not detailed by the previous chapters, such as commissions and constituencies, and will require review and revision.
It is extremely important for the youths of Jamaica to take this exercise of developing a new Constitution seriously because it is going to affect them much more than the older people.
ROBERT STEPHENS
Co-chairman, Advocates
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