Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte says the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) has signed off on the recommendations for proposed changes to the Constitution and the next step is to go to Parliament for tabling.

She made the announcement while speaking at the launch of the European Union-funded project ‘Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Jamaica’ at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Monday, April 29.

Last year, the Constitutional Reform Committee was formed to spearhead consultations and recommendations for the requisite changes to the Constitution as Jamaica transitions to a republic.

“The Constitutional Reform Committee has now signed off on the list of recommendations, the document is being prepared for the signature of committee members,” Malahoo Forte said.

She noted that among the recommendations is for a Jamaica to have non-executive presidency as head of state.

“I don’t think it is any secret that the recommendation is for a non-executive presidency. I am not at liberty at this time to go into details of the recommendations because there is a protocol and sequencing of the work that must take place. When we are calling for the rule of law to be engrained, we have to curb our appetite for the leaks and want to hear ahead of time you can be assured that in the same way, we have put online all of the confirmed minutes of the meetings, the report will go to Cabinet and it will be tabled in the Parliament and you will have an opportunity as a nation to discuss in full,” she explained.

Executive Director of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) Mickel Jackson says the human rights lobby group supports Jamaica’s move to a republic and the recommendation for a non-executive president.

“We support the move to become a republic. For us at JFJ, we are advocating for a non-executive president that will have certain reserved powers to ensure that there is safeguard within the executive as well as the parliamentary system overall, but importantly that symbol of unity,” Jackson said.

She noted that the move should be aligned with the adoption of the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final court for Jamaica.

“We believe that the move to becoming a republic ought to be twined with adopting the Caribbean Court of Justice because we believe decolonisation and to fully realise that means that we need that court that we have invested in monetarily but also a court that symbolises true independence,” Jackson added.

She further noted that human rights lobby groups will be advocating for the expansion of the types of rights in the Constitution.