The Senate, on Friday (June 12), approved a motion for a comprehensive review of the Co-operative Societies Act to, among other things, provide the stimulus and the supportive framework for the growth of small and medium-sized farm enterprises. The motion, moved by Senator Norman Grant, also seeks to remove the restriction on legal entities becoming members of cooperatives and provide...

Three Bills, which seek to make the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Jamaica’s final appellate Court, by replacing the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, were tabled in the Upper House on Friday (May 22). The Caribbean Court of Justice Act, the Constitution (Amendment) (Caribbean Court of Justice) Act, and the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Act, 2012, were tabled by...

The Government now has the authority to spend funds allotted in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, following the passage of the Appropriation Act 2015 in the Senate on Friday, March 27. This annual Bill provides authority for expenditure (other than statutory expenditure) for the financial year 2015/16 and specifies the manner in which the money is to be allocated to...

President of the Senate and Head of the Centre for Persons with Disabilities at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Senator Floyd Morris, will address the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) 19th Annual Public Lecture. The lecture will be held on Tuesday, March 31, at MIND Kingston Campus, 235A Old Hope Road, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00...

The Senate, on February 13, passed a Resolution requiring the Supreme Court to make the final determination on which Opposition Senators are duly appointed as members of the Upper House, following the ruling in the case: ‘Williams versus Holness’. The matter has arisen based on last week’s Constitutional Court ruling that the removal of Arthur Williams and Dr. Christopher Tufton...

Attorney General, Hon. Patrick Atkinson, says that despite submitting letters of resignation, former Opposition Senators, Arthur Williams and Dr. Christopher Tufton, remain members of the Upper House, based on last week’s Supreme Court ruling. Mr. Atkinson says his opinion is based on the Court’s judgment that the Leader of the Opposition’s request for and procurement of the pre-signed and undated...

A Bill to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act, to decriminalize ganja for medicinal, religious, scientific and therapeutic purposes, was passed in the Senate on Friday, February 6, with five amendments. Piloted by Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding, the Bill seeks to make the possession of small quantities of ganja, amounting to two ounces or less, a non-arrestable...