Opposition says no to Jamaican final court

Reacting yesterday to Prime Minister Bruce Golding's proposal that Jamaica establish its own final appellate court, the Opposition has stated firmly that it is against any such move.

Golding revealed during debate on the Charter of Rights in Parliament on Tuesday that the Government is hoping to establish a local final court of appeal to replace the Privy Council. However, the People's National Party is in favour of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which has yet to be established in the Constitution in its appellate jurisdiction.

A.J. Nicholson, opposition spokesman on justice, yesterday questioned from where the funds would be sourced to establish a final court of appeal in Jamaica that would be on par with final courts elsewhere.

"This being suggested at a time when we are already paying for the functioning of the CCJ," he scoffed. "Should such funds not be invested in strengthening our own present judicial system?"

Backward step

Prominent attorney-at-law Bert Samuels also told The Gleaner yesterday that it would be a backward step for Jamaica to establish its own final appellate court.

"I think it is a disservice to the region and the Caribbean for us to want to have our own final appellate court," he said.

According to Samuels, all that has to be done is to pull on the best legal minds in the Caribbean so we can have a very strong CCJ.

Nicholson argued that, had Golding discussed the matter with the PNP before making the suggestion public, he would have told him that the Government's and Opposition's positions were not far apart.

"If the JLP wished to have a national element to our final court of appeal, we would have been able to advise them that all Jamaica would need to do is agree with the other CARICOM member states so that, whenever the CCJ hears appeals from Jamaica, there would be two judges from Jamaica, paid for by us, on the panel of five judges," Nicholson said.

"The Government could hardly refuse such a proposal, unless their settled intention is to stonewall the process and continuing to deny our citizens access to their highest court of appeal."