

Amid ongoing plans to remove the parliamentary monarchy system in favour of a transition into a republic, Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Orette Bruce Golding, says several factors that must be taken into consideration if the country should establish its final court.
There has been much debate as to which court should serve as Jamaica’s final court as it seeks to fully sever ties with the current head of state King Charles III to become a republic.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has noted that his administration is of the view that the country’s final court should be a Jamaican final court.
“That is an idea that should not be rejected without consideration, it does have some issues, the cost implications, maybe we can find the money, but one of the problems is that we would be trying to populate a final apex court from the same small pool of talents that we have and when you do that you are doing it at the expense of the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court,” he said.
Additionally, he said there is an issue of limited jurisprudence when compared to other courts such as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) or Privy Council.

Golding was speaking yesterday (July 30) at a reasoning session about the reform of the Jamaican Constitution hosted by the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
Opposition Leader Mark Golding has called for the removal of the privy council as the country’s final court and the ascension to the CCJ. He argued that appealing to the Privy Council attracts exorbitant costs to taxpayers, which he believes is unsustainable.
The former prime minister said while he acknowledged the challenges faced in appealing to the privy council, there needs to be a critical assessment of the CCJ.
“I say we lack critical assessment, our legal community has been missing in action. What have they done [to] all our erudite lawyers? What assistance have they provided in giving us an appreciation of the CCJ, its procedures, its accessibility, its timeliness in terms of handing down decisions, the quality of those decisions?” Golding asked.

Additionally, he said there needs to be a robust arrangement for people who cannot afford the cost of legal representation.
Need for referendum
“If you are talking about our final court, our court from which all other courts would have to take guidance, then that is something that the people should decide,” said Golding.
He, however, noted that if the matter of the country’s final court is put to a referendum, then the voters must be guided by the two political parties.
“The business of constitutional reform is stuck unless we can agree on some compromise regarding the CCJ,” Golding noted. “Let’s face it, unless there is a change in the PNP’s [People’s National Party] position there is going to be no constitutional reform until this issue of the CCJ is dealt with.”
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