Senate President Welcomes Virtual Sittings Of The Upper House

Senator the Hon. Tom Tavares-Finson has welcomed the recent amendments of the Standing Orders to allow members to join full sittings of the Upper House virtually.

The Standing Orders are the rules that govern the proceedings, actions and conduct of members in the Chamber.

The Senate President said that the situation was prompted by the need to observe the protocols aimed at containing transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Senator Tavares-Finson, who was speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Wednesday (May 26), informed that the Senate had begun moving towards virtual meetings in April 2020 when members were permitted to participate in committee meetings online.

“This is not to be confused with meetings of the full Senate now accessible online,” he pointed out.

He explained that initially, when it came to the matter of Senators attending full Senate meetings there were some constitutional issues that were identified. However, upon seeking advice from the Attorney General’s Department in December 2020, a decision was made by the Standing Orders Committee of the Senate to allow members of the Senate to virtually join meetings of the Senate with restrictions.

Senators joining via this mode are shown on a screen in Gordon House where they can hear what is going on and participate in the deliberations.

Senator Tavares-Finson told JIS News that members, who wish to join virtually, must make their request in writing to the Clerk of the House before the sitting of the Senate. This request is then submitted to the President of the Senate.

Once the President is of the view that there is adequate reason for the member to attend virtually, then the President will put that reason to the Senate as a whole to seek concurrence or agreement.

“Such member will be restricted to taking part in debates, asking and answering questions and contributing to discussions. In keeping with current provisions of the Constitution, Senators participating virtually will not be permitted to vote, present a bill or motion or form a part of the quorum of the Senate,” Senator Tom Tavares-Finson explained.

On the note of confidentiality and connectivity, the Senate President pointed out that all the meetings of the Upper House are public, and so far, there have been no disruptions due to connectivity.

“The Senate will embrace this groundbreaking change as it seeks to arrive at a balance between the Constitution of Jamaica, the Standing Orders of the Senate and the technologies which are available to us,” he said.