Preliminary Hearing Date for Reparations Petition Set for March 2027

A preliminary hearing date in the week of March 8, 2027, has been set by the United Kingdom- based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for a petition, referred by His Majesty the King, that was filed on behalf of the People of Jamaica seeking a ruling on the legality of chattel slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, provided the update on October 15.

Referring to information from the Registrar of the Privy Council, she noted that the respondent, representing the United Kingdom Government, had until November 20, 2026, to file its case.

On September 7, 2026, Jamaica filed a petition with His Majesty The King, seeking the referral of certain issues of significant importance concerning enslavement to the Privy Council for determination.

Beginning in the mid-17th century, an estimated 15.4 million Africans were forcibly captured and transported across the Atlantic over more than three centuries.

Records indicate that 1.2 million of them were transported to Jamaica and subjected to enslavement, primarily on sugar plantations.

Jamaica’s petition seeks a determination from the Privy Council on whether the capture, transportation and enslavement of Africans in Jamaica were ever lawful under English law; whether these acts constituted a breach of international law; and whether the United Kingdom owes the people of Jamaica a reparatory remedy.