Opposition member of the Constitutional Reform Committee, CRC, Anthony Hylton, is calling on the government to state its position on whether Jamaica will accede to the Caribbean Court of Justice, CCJ, as its final appellate court.
The question emerges amid the ongoing work of the CRC.
But the Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte, previously said there was no consensus on the issue of Jamaica’s final appellate court at this time.
Nora Gaye Banton reports.
Minister Malahoo-Forte has previously stated that the issue of Jamaica’s final appellate court will be addressed when the CRC gets to phase two of the reform process.
The committee is now in phase one, which is focused on transitioning the nation to a republic.
But Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, declared on Sunday at the PNP’s Annual Conference that the party will only support the removal of the British monarch as Jamaica’s Head of State if such a move is accompanied by the removal of the Privy Council as Jamaica’s final court.
Mr. Hylton, who is one of two Opposition members on the CRC, supports Mr. Golding’s position.
He told Nationwide This Morning that with the exception of the government members on the Committee, all others are in support of the CCJ being Jamaica’s final appellate court.
Mr. Hylton says the government must tell the nation where it stands on the CCJ.
According to Mr. Hylton, the Opposition will not accept that pure justice can only come from the UK-based Privy Council.
