A SIGNIFICANT number of Jamaicans have remained in the dark on the controversial Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), despite considerable national coverage and intense public discussion on the issue.
According to the findings of the latest Gleaner-commissioned Don Anderson poll, close to 59 per cent of all persons interviewed claimed to know little or nothing about the CCJ. As a result, just over 50 per cent were unsure if the CCJ should replace the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.
FINAL OPPORTUNITY
Almost 32 per cent were in support while only 18 per cent were against the setting up of the court which would function as the region's final court of appeal. It will represent a final opportunity for appellants to have matters heard and ruled on within the judicial system.
In his analysis, the pollster noted that 38.8 per cent of the 1,200 interviewed said they "did not really know" when asked what they understood the CCJ to be. That, he said, suggested they had "some information but perhaps very little knowledge of the CCJ." Another 20 per cent, Anderson added, claimed to know nothing at all about the court.
ISLANDWIDE POLL
The islandwide poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent, was conducted by Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Ltd. between July 6 and 20. Those interviewed made up a nationally representative sample of persons aged 18 years and over.
The poll was conducted just days after three Bills related to the establishment of the CCJ were passed in the Senate, and just days before the same Bills were tabled and passed in the House of Representatives.
"There are concerns about the justice systemin Jamaica and a strategic imperative in the interest of raising confidence levels with regards to the CCJ would be to provide the means by which persons could be better informed about the CCJ," Anderson said. Effective communication, he added, appeared to be critical at this juncture.
A similar deficiency in the understanding of the CCJ was discovered in another poll conducted last year.
But responding at that time, Professor Stephen Vasciannie, head of the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, said he found it surprising to learn that Jamai-cans were in the dark despite the many discussions in several sections of the print and electronic media.
ESOTERIC SIDESHOW
"It could be that many Jamai-cans regard the debate on the CCJ as an esoteric sideshow to the business of living," said Professor Vasciannie, who is also a consultant in the Attorney-General's Chambers. "Many people are hard-pressed to make bread, and in the process, have little time to ponder the niceties of original and appellate jurisdiction when these issues are addressed in the media."
According to the Anderson poll, just close to 27 per cent of all persons interviewed had a "good idea" of what the CCJ is about.
Within that number 11 per cent of all persons knew that the CCJ was a replacement for the Privy Council, while 5.9 per cent said the CCJ would be the final court of appeal. Awareness was highest among the upper socio-economic groups.
Another 9.2 per cent saw the CCJ as meaning "full control of the justice system", possibly reflecting that they understand this to be a transfer of the final judicial matters to courts in the Caribbean.
