Law Revision Secretariat Facilitating Access to Legal Information

The Law Revision Secretariat undertook several major initiatives during the 2022/23 legislative year, in keeping with its mandate to enhance the availability of legal information to the public.

Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, said the measures included revision of newly enacted and amended statutes and subsidiary legislation for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The Secretariat also prepared revised content for publication by the printers covering the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 and updated the online versions of the Revised Pages of the Laws of Jamaica with content up to 2019 (subsidiary legislation) and 2020 (statutes).

The Minister provided the information during her contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 6.

The Law Revision Secretariat enhances access to legal information by publishing annual volumes of the Revised Pages of the Laws of Jamaica and facilitating the online publication of laws.

Minister Malahoo Forte told the House that the Secretariat is currently carrying out multiple annual revision exercises to address an existing backlog.

“It has completed the revision for two legislative years within the fiscal year 2022/2023. The ongoing process involves finalising the revision for the year 2021, including typesetting and proofreading, which is currently 70 per cent complete,” she informed.

She noted that the ‘Jamaica Laws Online’ webpage is being hosted by the Ministry of Justice.

“The pages have been uploaded and the targets and achievements of the Secretariat for the reporting period have by and large been met,” told the House.