Call Made for Updating of Laws with Outdated Monetary Penalties

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Wayne Robertson, is calling for the laws of Jamaica with outdated monetary penalties to be updated.

Speaking during a Legislative Policy Development Forum at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Thursday (June 13), Mr. Robertson informed that when the Ministry was established, it received information on this area for all ministries from the Justice Ministry.

“Simply put, it provided a table that outlined each piece of legislation, the current monetary penalty, and the recommendation; so, ministries were asked to move this forward. It’s a low-hanging fruit, and we have seen, in many cases, where it is not moving,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary also cited the matter of an alleged gangster who was fined a maximum $100 for making a false declaration to immigration officials.

“I have read that on more than one occasion, and it has resonated with me that as your humble servant in this Ministry, I cannot sit down and see these things and turn a blind eye to them – not in 2024 – and that is just one example,” Mr. Robertson stated.

“There was a recent case with some fishermen… and I have spoken to that ministry; but the fact is, we have to get these things done. We have outdated legislation… we are familiar with one, for example, the Towns and Communities Act… [it] needs to be modernised,” he added.

The Permanent Secretary underscored the importance of the Government addressing the matter.

“I understand that it is a process and not an event but we have to start the process and accelerate the process to get to where we want to go. So, the long and short of it is that monetary penalties have been left on the backburner, and we are now saying to you bring it on the front burner. I am asking you kindly to give this area some attention,” Mr. Robertson said.

He indicated that he has already spoken to the Permanent Secretaries, and “we understand that Ministers give policy directions but, as technocrats, we have a duty to bring these matters to the attention of the Ministers”.

The Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs hosted a Legislative Policy Development Forum to discuss critical matters related to the legislative review process, with legal representatives from all government ministries, departments and agencies.

The meeting agenda covered the legislative review process, performance of the 2023/24 legislative programme, status report on the 2024/25 legislation programme (including monetary penalties), legislative policy development, and introduction of a new score card system.