In agreement for CCJ
published: Wednesday | June 25, 2003
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WISH to congratulate the Most Honourable P.J. Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica on the historic signing of the agreement to ratify and create the Caribbean Court of Justice. Finally, 33 years after the idea was conceived the Jamaican litigant will have access to the Final Court of Appeal in the Caribbean.
I agree with the stand taken by the Prime Minister. Referenda and initiatives, where not constitutionally mandated, have accelerated the process of taking power away from the politicians by an ever-growing class of professional consultants, lobbyists, pollsters and NGO activists. California is a glaring example. In the name of democracy, they want to create a new layer of powerful elites with no check on their powers. Jamaica does not need a flurry of commandments from the people, which are often contradictory, with no substitute for debate, deliberation and compromise that characterise legislation.
Let the public educational campaign for the Final Court begin immediately, as much as more needs to be done to explain the process to the people.
