What is a state of emergency?

Prime Minister Bruce Golding on Sunday declared a limited state of emergency for the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, allowing law enforcers special powers to deal with the outbreak of violence affecting the Corporate Area.

Based on the advice of the security forces, the governor general was advised to issue a proclamation pursuant to Section 26 of the Constitution, which states that according to subsection (4), a "period of public emergency" means any period during which:

(a) Jamaica is engaged in any war; or (b) there is in force a proclamation by the governor general declaring that a state of public emergency exists; or (c) there is in force a resolution of each House supported by the votes of a majority of all the members of that House declaring that democratic institutions in Jamaica are threatened by subversion.

Subsection (5) states that a proclamation made by the governor general shall not be effective for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section unless it is declared therein that the governor general is satisfied that:

(a) a public emergency has arisen as a result of the imminence of a state of war between Jamaica and a foreign state, or as a result of the occurrence of any earthquake, hurricane, flood, fire, outbreak of pestilence, outbreak of infectious disease, or other calamity whether similar to the foregoing or not; or

(b) that action has been taken or is immediately threatened by any person or body of persons of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be likely to endanger the public safety or to deprive the community, or any substantial portion of the community, of supplies or services essential to life.

The proclamation shall remain in force for a period of one month unless extended by the House of Representatives or revoked.