Court rules declarations of SOEs by gov’t were unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of Opposition People's National Party General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, granting declarations that the multiple states of public emergency (SOEs) declared by the Government between 2018 and 2023 were unconstitutional.

The court found that SOEs declared on 15 separate dates — including January 2018, March 2018, April 2019, June 2020, and as recently as February 2023 — were not made for a constitutionally valid purpose, were not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society, and were inconsistent with the Jamaican Constitution.

The decision was handed down a short while ago.

In a major rebuke of the Government’s use of SOEs in crime fighting, the court also ruled that three so-called rolling proclamations made by the Governor General in November and December 2022 amounted to a breach of the separation of powers, as they effectively bypassed Parliament’s role in extending emergency powers beyond the constitutionally permitted 14 days.

The declarations mean the challenged SOEs were void and unconstitutional.

Declarations sought by Campbell:

1. A declaration that SOEs declared in several areas on: January 18, March 18 and September 2018; April 30, July 7 and September 5, 2019; January 6 and June 14, 2020; November 14, 2021; June 17, November 15; December 6 and December 28, 2022; February 15, 2023; "were not made for any purpose specified in Section 20 of the Constitution and were "not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society" and were inconsistent with the Constitution and are void".

2. A declaration that the SOE declarations rnor general on November 15, 2022, December 6, 2022 and December 28, 2022 by which he declared states of public emergency in specified communities "constituted a breach of the separation of powers principle in that the executive effectively purported to exercise a power that the Constitution reserved to Parliament in relation to the power to extend a state of public emergency for longer than 14 days were therefore inconsistent with the Constitution and are void.

Michael Hylton KC and attorneys Duane Allen, Alexis Robinson and Daynia Allen represented Campbell.

Faith Hall, Director of State Proceedings, and attorney Matthew Gabbadon represented the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The court, which comprised a three-judge panel of justices Bertram Morrison, Andrea Pettigrew-Collins and Simone Wolfe-Reece, had reserved judgment on November 26, 2024.

The oral orders were read out by Pettigrew-Collins.

Justice Morrison was absent.

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