By Vernon Daley, Staff Reporter.JPG)
Patterson
PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson yesterday brought to the House proposed amendments to the Constitution which he said would expand the rights of Jamaicans as well as restrict the means by which they could be deprived of their liberties.
Mr. Patterson opened the debate on the Charter of Rights Bill declaring that it was "a most important and historic occasion".
The Bill, which will replace Chapter III of the Constitution dealing with fundamental rights and freedoms, has been in the making for the past decade. It reflects the first ever amendment of any of the entrenched provisions of the Constitution since it was crafted in 1962.
Among the major provisions of the Bill is a restriction on the Government's ability to declare a state of public emergency.
Under the proposed amendments, the duration of a public emergency will be shortened from one month to 14 days and from a maximum duration of 12 months, when extended, to a maximum of three months.
Additionally, before such a declaration can be made it must be supported by a two-thirds majority of the Members of the House, rather than a simple majority as is now the case.
The categories of rights and freedoms that are subject to limitations during a state of emergency include freedom of movement, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to due process.
"I am sure that Members of this House understand the significance of that change," the Prime Minister said.
Similar provisions have been included in the Bill to deal with declarations of periods of public disasters such as floods, hurricanes and outbreaks of disease.
In 1976, the then Prime Minister Michael Manley called a state of emergency on the basis that a growing wave of violence was threatening to undermine the state. About 500 people were detained including several members of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
The decision turned out to be controversial with many subsequently accusing Mr. Manley of using the lax constitutional arrangements as a weapon against his political opponents.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Patterson also outlined a number of new rights that will be protected under the Constitution. They include:
Equality before the law and the equitable and humane treatment by any public authority.
The right of every child, who is a citizen, to free tuition at the pre-primary and primary level in a public education institution.
The right to enjoy a healthy and productive environment.
A guarantee of the right to vote (at present this right is not protected in the constitution).
Persons will enjoy these rights and others specified in the Constitution and will only be deprived of them "save only as may be demonstrably justified in a free, peaceful, orderly and democratic society".
Another crucial feature of the proposed Bill is that it provides redress for citizens who have been deprived of their rights by both the state as well as other persons and legal entities. At present only the state is bound by the provisions of the Constitution.
Debate on the Bill continues next week.
