DRUG TRAFFICKERS and other offenders facing the prospect of being extradited from Jamaica to a foreign country for prosecution cannot take their cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based on a recent ruling by the British based tribunal.
The Privy Council's ruling comes against the background of current efforts by Jamaican law enforcement to extradite alleged drug traffickers Leebert Ramcharan and Donovan Williams to the US to face prosecution.
A March 2004 report by the US authoritiies, commenting on the situation in Jamaica, observed an "overburdened court system combined with the appeals process available to defendants means that contested extradition requests can take two to five years to litigate fully."
It said the U.S. Government was working with members of the highly effective Jamaica Fugitive Apprehension Team (JFAT) to accelerate the completion of some 200 extradition cases, the majority involving drug or homicide charges.
Ten fugitives were extradited from Jamaica to the United States in 2003.
Jamaica has extradition treaties with the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries.
The Privy Council, Jamaica's final court of appeal, ruled early this week that in Jamaica the decision of the Court of Appeal on extradition matters is final, as borne out by the Constitution
"Their Lordships can see no basis for concluding that...the decision of the Court of Appeal was to be final, but that finality was to leave open an appeal pursuant to special leave granted by the Board. That would not achieve the intended finality", said Lord Nicholls on behalf of the law lords.
HABEAS CORPUS
The hearing involved the case of Dave Antonio Grant, who presented a petition to the Committee for special leave to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica dated November 7, 2002 to grant a writ of habeas corpus to secure his release from prison where he was awaiting extradition to the United States.
On April 14, 1998 Grant had pleaded guilty to a drug offence before a district judge in Texas. Sentencing was postponed until July 10, 1998, but he failed to appear for sentencing. Instead, he fled to Jamaica where he enjoys citizenship. The extradition proceedings were brought for the purpose of returning him to the US to complete the case in which Grant had entered the plea of guilty.
When Grant took his case to the Privy Council the question was raised as to the body's jurisdiction to hear his appeal. The Judicial Committee ruled that when the Parliament of Jamaica introduced a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal by section 21a, it made plain by subsection (3) that there was to be no further appeal.
