Celebrating Our
Caribbean L 46 ife, Aug. 30, 2019
Jamaica wants referenda
on head of state, CCJ
By Azad Ali
The Jamaica government said it
is committed to holding referenda to
decide on a number of issues of national
importance, including replacing Queen
Elizabeth 11, as head of state and the
island joining the Trinidad-based Caribbean
Court of Justice (CCJ).
This was revealed by Justice Minister
Delroy Chuck while speaking on a
number of other “priority” legislation
had pushed the issues of the CCJ and
the head of state to the back burner.
But he insisted that the Andrew Holness
government is still committed to
holding the referenda on these and
other critical issues.
Chuck that there were many bills had
to be dealt with in the last three years
that a number of these referenda matters
had not really come to the fore to
be addressed.
The CCJ, established in 2003 to
replace the London-based Privy Council
as the region’s final court, also serves as
an international tribunal interpreting
the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
that governs the regional integration
movement.
While most of the CARICOM countries
have signed on to the Court’s original
jurisdiction, only Barbados, Belize,
Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew
Holness. www.jamaica-munich.com
Dominica and Guyana are signatories
to the appellate jurisdiction.
Prime Minister Andrew Holnes has
in the past reiterated the ruling Jamaica
Labor Party (JLP) position on the CCJ,
which is to reserve the decision to
embrace the CCJ for a referendum.
While in opposition, the JLP rejected
the CCJ as the final appellate jurisdiction
for Jamaica.
26th Year
/www.jamaica-munich.com
/www.jamaica-munich.com