Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson

PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has set the end of June as the deadline for Jamaica to decide on the proposed Caribbean Court of Justice, which the Jamaica Labour Party is opposing.

Opposition Leader Edward Seaga said in the Budget debate on Tuesday, that his party's insistence that "pure" justice must characterise the appellate process of final jurisdiction, had driven its determination to stick with the Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council as the final Court of Appeal.

Mr. Seaga said that statements, such as one he attributed to People's National Party Chairman Robert Pickersgill that "it is better for the country for us (the PNP) to form the administration, so anything that will lead us or cause us to stay in office, we regard as being best for the country," as well as Prime Minister Patterson's statement that "the law must not be a shackle," raised the possibility of the law being bent to suit political purposes.

"I will not accept this court, unless the people tell us that they are comfortable with such an arrangement. The issue must be put to the people to decide whether we give up the proven justice of the Privy Council for the unproven justice of a questionably-conceived Caribbean Court," Mr. Seaga said.

He repeated his earlier argument that if the CCJ was established by a simple majority of each House of Parliament, "it will one day be abolished by the same simply majority.

"Only the people, by referendum, can make this court permanent, if they so desire," he said.

Responding to Mr. Seaga on Wednesday, Mr. Patterson said that a decision would have to be taken in Parliament by the end of June.

The Prime Minister said: "I am concerned that we continue to refuse to take on board the strong encouragement coming from the highest authority in the United Kingdom, that it is time for us to go and seek to establish our own final appellate tribunal in the Caribbean and I am not waiting until somebody kick me out, I want to go of my own volition and preserve some dignity in going.

"I am also concerned that as we assert the independence of the judiciary, to which I fully subscribe, we do not allow any incursion on the spheres of the legislature and the power of the executive under the guise of judicial interpretation.

"If this Parliament decides that there must be capital punishment for certain kinds of offences, that is a matter for us to decide. I am willing to spend all the time in the debate that will take place among us, but once we decide that is the law of the land, the law of the land must be respected. And we cannot allow any court, inside or overseas, to trespass on our sovereign competence as a Parliament to legislate on matters of national policy."

He explained that the national preparatory committee had begun its task of educating people on what the Caribbean Court of Justice was about and a public education programme was being launched.

"I encourage all interest groups of civil society to make their views known to the parliamentary committee that has been set up for that purpose, but we have to take decision in this House by the end of June, whither do we go," he said.