Justice Hugh Small (left), head of the government-appointed committee to review the libel and defamation laws, speaking yesterday at a seminar on press freedom and corruption prevention in St. Andrew. Listening from left are editor of the Stabroek News in Guyana, Anand Persaud, Deputy RJR Group Managing Director Gary Allen, and marketing manager of IRIE FM, Brian Schmidt. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Changes to Jamaica's libel and defamation laws will help to encourage good governance and accountability, participants heard at a seminar in St. Andrew yesterday.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, at the conference on press freedom and corruption prevention, restated his government's commitment to review and make changes to existing libel laws.

"I want to see a press that is strong, that is powerful and that is able to satisfy the public's need for information without any unnecessary methods being applied," declared the Prime Minister at the seminar organised by the Media Association of Jamaica in collaboration with the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

Mr. Golding said his committee to review existing legislation, headed by Justice Hugh Small, is expected to submit a report in February next year.

While he could not commit to the enactment of all the recommendations from the committee, Mr. Golding indicated that once they were consistent with the Government's fundamental position, they would be pursued.

At the same time, the Prime Minister said that with more freedom, the press will have more responsibility, and media managers and owners must ensure that measures were in place to prevent abuse.

This point was supported by highly respected regional attorney Dame Bernice Lake, Q.C., who emphasised the need for strong self-regulation by Caribbean media.

Know your fundamental rights

She called on the people and the Government to educate themselves on their fundamental rights.

"There is a need to bring a fresh, new approach towards the law of libel and defamation," said Lake, who works throughout the Eastern Caribbean.

She mooted the involvement of the public in the process, arguing that "there is a need for public debates on constitutional issues", a point supported by the Prime Minister and Justice Small.

Other speakers in the press freedom segment yesterday were Anand Persaud, editor of Stabroek News, a newspaper in Guyana, and Gary Allen, deputy managing director of the RJR Group. The session was moderated by Ed Khoury, the chief executive officer of the Jamaica Observer.