Caribbean Court of Justice Versus the Privy Council for Jamaica

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final Court of Appeal or Court of Last Resort for Jamaicans. The Privy Council is based in Britain and was established as the final Court of Appeal for the Caribbean region during colonisation of the British Monarch.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is the regional judicial tribunal established by the “Agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice” that was setup to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The CCJ will be vested with an original jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation and application of the Treaty Establishing the Caribbean Community. In effect, the CCJ would exercise both an appellate and an original jurisdiction.

In 2005, under the governance of the People’s National Party, the government attempted to abolish appeals to the Judicial Committee without the support of the opposition in Parliament; however, it was ruled that the procedure used to bypass the opposition was incorrect and unconstitutional. It must be noted that there are benefits to Jamaica to continue to utilize the services of the Privy Council, namely:

Court maintenance cost - the maintenance of the Privy Council is the burden of the British Monarch; the Jamaican Government makes no contribution towards maintenance. The less expense Jamaica incurs the less taxation will be levied on businesses

Impartiality in the administration of justice – the long standing track record of impartial rulings of the Privy Council has been one of the driving factors for its success. The Judges of the courts given their lack of personal interest or national sentiments in matters presented are less likely to take sides on matters presented in Court. It further adds that they are entirely free from any pressure from politicians, bias or corruptions. Therefore the matters of trade law favouring Trinidad could be heard with little or no bias.

Despite the mentioned advantages of the Privy Council is does overwrite the...