KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC—The Jamaica government signaled its intention to appeal a ruling by the Constitutional Court that found the decision to extend the tenure of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, unconstitutional.
“The Government of Jamaica does not agree with this part of the ruling of the Constitutional Court and will instruct its attorneys to ask for a stay of execution and immediately appeal the ruling,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
Last July, the government used its majority in the Parliament to amend the retirement ages of the DPP and the Auditor General from 60 to 65. As a result, Llewellyn, whose tenure would have ended in September of that year, was given two extra years to remain in office.
But Opposition lawmakers Phillip Paulwell and Peter Bunting had taken the issue to court, and the all-female panel of three judges – Justices Sonya Wint-Blair, Simone Wolfe Reece, and Tricia Hutchinson Shell – who heard legal arguments last year, handed down the ruling on Friday.
In its ruling on Friday, the Constitutional Court said: “A new provision introduced into the Constitution by Section 2(2) of the Act grants the DPP the option to remain in office after age 60, and this gives the DPP a level of authority not envisaged by the Constitution’s framers.”
“The incumbent DPP has already reached the extended retirement age; this means that the application of Section 2(2) cannot lead to another extension in office by way of an election on the part of the incumbent DPP as this is unlawful.”
The Constitutional Court said, “The only lawful method to extend the DPP’s tenure remains an agreement between the prime minister and the opposition leader.”
Opposition Leader Mark Golding told a news conference that the post of DPP is vacant and urged the Services Commission to swiftly recommend someone to fill it.
“The legal advice that we have received today is that this is a declaratory judgment that the constitutional court has made, and there is no jurisdiction to grant a stay of a declaratory judgment. You can appeal it, but it stands as a declaration of what the law is unless and until a higher court says otherwise. Our position is that Ms. Llewellyn is no longer the DPP and has, in fact, not been the DPP since her 63rd birthday in September last year,” Golding said.
He said that a provision covers the rulings she has made to date but that since the ruling has now been made, she can no longer perform functions as a DPP, and a new DPP should be appointed.
However, the Minister of Justice, Delroy Chuck, said there are no plans to appoint an acting DPP at this time.
He noted that the court essentially granted the parties a seven-day stay, during which time the appeal is hoped to be filed.
The ministry also said the government noted that the court at the same time ruled that the Act extending the retirement age of the DPP from age 60 to 65 is constitutional.
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