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The State Opening of Parliament will take place on May 10, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen  will deliver the Throne Speech, in which he will outline the government’s programmes and policies for the 2012/13 Fiscal Year, which began on April 1. Later in the afternoon, Minister of Finance, Planning and Public Service,...

A motion proposing the re-examination of the driver’s licencing system has been referred to a Special Select Committee for further review. The motion, which was tabled by Government Senator, Imani Duncan-Price in the Upper House on Thursday May 3, questioned the integrity of the current system, in particular the process and qualifications required for an applicant to successfully obtain a...

The Senate has approved amendments to the Processed Food Act and the Standards Act, to among other things, increase fines and penalties for breaches. Approval of the Bills, which were piloted by Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding through the Upper House on Friday (May 4), pave the way for offenders to be fined $3 million for offences,...

Senator Lambert Brown is urging the Government to develop an address database of all drivers’ licence holders as a means of easily locating traffic violators. The move, he said, will ensure that traffic offenders pay their fines and reduce the levels of delinquency within the system. “I believe that in the future, what we need to be doing is seeking...

The House of Representatives on May 1 approved a motion allowing unfinished business on the Order Paper to be carried over into in the new session of Parliament. The move serves to signal that sittings of Parliament will the prorogued soon for the 2012/ 13 session to begin. Leader of Government Business in the Lower House, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, explained...

A Bill seeking to enhance the conduct of attorneys at law, and the quality of service they provide, was tabled in the Senate on April 27. Tabled by the Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding, the Bill, entitled ‘An Act to amend the Legal Profession Amendment Act’, contains provisions empowering the General Legal Council to take specified actions...

A Bill seeking to enhance the conduct of attorneys at law, and the quality of service they provide, was tabled in the Senate on April 27. Tabled by the Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding, the Bill, entitled ‘An Act to amend the Legal Profession Amendment Act’, contains provisions empowering the General Legal Council to take specified actions...

The new session of Parliament began on January 17, with the swearing in of the 63 elected representatives, who won their seats in the General Elections on December 29, 2011, and 20 of the 21-member Senate. During the ceremony, Member of Parliament (MP) for South Manchester, Michael Peart, was chosen as Speaker of the House of Representatives, while MP for...

A Parliamentary Committee is to be established to examine the relevance of the Office of the Political Ombudsman. Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, informed the Lower House of the decision at Tuesday’s (April 17) sitting. “This is a committee that will be meeting very shortly to examine the matter (the Political Ombudsman Interim...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Damion Crawford, says the concept of public (state) financing for election candidates should not be seen as a subsidy. “What public financing is trying to achieve is to reduce the influence of contributors to the Member’s decision making, in their pursuit of their own self interest. So, I agree...

The Senate unanimously approved a Motion, on April 5, seeking Government’s commissioning of a publication of the history of Jamaica’s Parliament, to include the names of Parliamentary Officers, Members, Clerks, Deputy Clerks and Marshals, as well as the titles of laws passed in the period since independence to the present. The Motion was moved by Government Senator, Lambert Brown, and...

Claimants awaiting awards in court cases over lengthy periods will soon be able to benefit from interim payments from defendants. This is being made possible through the drafting of legislation, which will give Supreme Court judges the authority to make Orders for interim payments in such circumstances as specified by the court.  Announcing that Cabinet had issued drafting instructions, Minister...