PM to State Position on Jamaica Adopting CCJ as Final Appellate Court

Prime Minister, the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness, will inform the nation on the Government’s position regarding Jamaica adopting the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court.

Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, said that the Government is paying close attention to matters concerning the final court as well as constitutional reform.

“There is and should be no disagreement, that it is unacceptable and untenable, to continue with an arrangement where Jamaicans need a visa to access their final court,” Minister Malahoo Forte said.

She was speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (October 3).

The Parliamentary Opposition Members of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) have called on the Government to publicly state its position on the CCJ.

Minister Malahoo Forte said that the Jamaican Bar Association (JAMBAR) has made a submission to the Committee, which included recommendations for Jamaica to accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ.

The CCJ is the Caribbean regional judicial tribunal established on February 14, 2001, by the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice.

It is intended to be a hybrid institution – a municipal court of last resort and an international court vested with original, compulsory, and exclusive jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.