KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Prime Minister Andrew Holness will inform the nation of the Government’s position regarding Jamaica adopting the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court.
Speaking in Parliament earlier this week, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte said the Government is paying close attention to matters concerning the final court and constitutional reform.
“There is and should be no disagreement that it is unacceptable and untenable to continue with an arrangement where Jamaicans need a visa to access their final court,” she said.
She made the statement as the Parliamentary Opposition Members of the Constitutional Reform Committee have called on the Government to state its position on the CCJ publicly.
Malahoo Forte said that the Jamaican Bar Association had submitted to the Committee, which included recommendations for Jamaica to accede to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ.
The CCJ is the Caribbean regional judicial tribunal established on February 14, 2001, by the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice.
It is intended to be a hybrid institution – a municipal court of last resort and an international court vested with original, compulsory, and exclusive jurisdiction concerning interpreting and applying the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
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