The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, 2013 has been sent to a Joint Select Committee of Parliament for its consideration and report. The Bill was tabled by Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding during a sitting of the Senate in December. Leader of Government Business in the Senate and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator A.J. Nicholson...

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, December 24, affirmed the Civil Service General Order of 2013, which indicates changes that have been made in the civil service establishment since 2012. Minister with responsibility for Public Service in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Horace Dalley, who tabled the Order in the House on December 17, explained that it reflects changes...

The White Paper on the reform of the public sector pension system was tabled in the House of Representatives on December 17. The document was tabled by Minister with responsibility for Public Service, Hon. Horace Dalley. According to the Paper, the need for the reform was borne out of recognition that the existing system had become fiscally unsustainable thus rendering it...

The Senate on Friday, December 13, passed the Securities (Amendment) Act, to combat the establishment and proliferation of unlawful financial organizations. In piloting the Bill, Minister of Justice, Hon. Mark Golding, said the Bill was drafted due to the urgent need for the Financial Services commission (FSC) to be equipped with adequate legislative powers to supervise and regulate the Jamaican securities...

The Senate on Friday, December 6, passed the Omnibus legislation which seeks to establish a transparent and coherent regime to govern all tax incentives. The Bills passed are the Fiscal Incentives (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act; and the Income Tax Relief (Large Scale Projects and Pioneer Industries) Act 2013. The Fiscal Incentives (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 sets out the reforms to be...

Come January 2014, a Sign Language Interpretation Programme will be piloted in the Senate, as part of efforts to make the activities of the Upper House more accessible to the hearing impaired community. This was disclosed by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Peart on December 3, as Parliament acknowledged the celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Mr....

A Bill aimed at facilitating easier access to loans for businesses was passed Tuesday, December 3, in the House of Representatives. The Security Interest in Personal Property Act (SIIP), which is a requirement under the agreement between the Government of Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was passed with 84 amendments. In piloting the legislation, Minister of Industry, Investment...