Vernon Daley, Staff Reporter SENATORS ARE kicking up a fuss about the long delays between the passage of Bills in Parliament and the tabling of the regulations which give effect to those pieces of legislation.
The issue was raised at yesterday's sitting of the Senate by Opposition member Dorothy Lightbourne, a long-time campaigner for Bills to be tabled along with their regulations.
"I still maintain that the ideal is that when we are debating these Bills the regulations ought to be here so we can see what they are about," she said during yesterday's debate on the Bail Act regulations, which were passed after an hour of debate.
Independent Senator Professor Trevor Munroe also voiced concern about regulations coming to Parliament for approval long after the Bills have been passed. He pointed out that the Bail Act was passed into law in December 2000, while the regulations had only just come to the Senate.
He added that there needed to be a clear statement from the Government as to why there were such delays in bringing the regulations to Parliament.
"I don't believe that it is acceptable for these long periods of delays in matters that relate to the rights of the Jamaican people," he said.
Senator A.J. Nicholson, who piloted the Bail Act regulations, gave the Senators the assurance that attempts would be made by the Government to try and ensure that Bills and their regulations come before the Houses of Parliament at the same time.
Over the years a number of Parliamenta-rians have argued for regulations to be tabled at the same time as the Bills to which they are connected. However, there continues to be lengthy delays in bringing these regulations to Parliament for approval.
For example, the regulations for the Corruption Prevention Act have yet to come to legislators for approval even though the law was passed nearly one year ago.
Numerous checks by The Gleaner reveal that the regulations are still with the Chief Parlia-mentary Counsel but there has been no definite word as to when they will be tabled in the House.
The Bail Act regulations which were passed yesterday set out the terms under which a person is to be given bail, including the kinds of persons who can stand surety, the method of paying bail money and the persons who can grant bail.
According to Senator Nicholson, the Bail Act was one of the most important pieces of legislation to be passed in Parliament. Formerly, the right to bail was subject to the discretion of specified authorities. However, the Bail Act has sought to make the bail a statutory right.
