BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—The Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) has presented its report to President Dame Sandra Mason, with the CRC chairman indicating that the document contains several recommendations for a Barbados constitution.
“The draft Bill, which accompanies the report, expands the provisions of the current Constitution by more than 50 percent, with a notable aspect being the greatly expanded Chapter on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. This has led to the recommendation for establishing a Human Rights Commission for Barbados,” said CRC chairman, retired Justice Christopher Blackman.
“While the Commission has recommended the maintenance of the status quo in respect of matters such as the first-past-the-post outcome at elections and elections being called at the discretion of the Prime Minister, other proposals, limiting the powers of the Prime Minister on appointments and the like, have been proposed,” he added.
The report was completed after 27 months of intensive deliberations, and Dame Sandra thanked the members of the Commission for working assiduously to complete it.
Blackman said there “are dissenting opinions on the Office of the President, in terms of whether the holder should be directly elected, and the qualifying criteria for the post, as well as about the judiciary.”
He said the CRC was deeply indebted to the drafting team of retired Justice of Appeal and former Chief Parliamentary Counsel Sherman Moore and acting Parliamentary Counsel Gabrielle Whitehall for their work and for delivering within the specified timelines.
The Commission held several town hall meetings locally and met with various institutions, stakeholders, and persons in the diaspora to allow members of the public to share ideas, comments, and suggestions.
When the members of the Commission were sworn in in June 2022, Attorney General Dale Marshall told reporters that attempts had been made in the 1970s with the Cox Commission and its Constitutional Report to examine the island’s Constitution. Twenty years later, in 1996, a similar exercise was undertaken, this time with the Forde Constitutional Report.
Marshall acknowledged that much had changed in the island’s development, including Barbados’ transition to a republic, and that a detailed review of the constitutional structure and mechanics was needed.
“There have been some critics in the press who have said that it has taken too long, but everyone knows that we had to deal with elections and we are still dealing with issues relating to COVID but that time has come.
“We methodically set about establishing this Commission…. I don’t think the members of the public would have an appreciation for all of the things that go on behind the scenes. We had to make sure that the Commission is well funded because … to have the kind of in-depth consultation … that a modern Barbadian is entitled to and would want, we have to make sure that a lot of systems are put in place …,” Marshall said.
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