Why the unholy haste to abolish the Privy Council?
published: Saturday | May 17, 2003 THE EDITOR, Sir: THIS UNHOLY haste by the government to abolish appeals to the Privy Council and replace it with a Caribbean court, even before consulting the people in a referendum, has given serious cause for concern. Sections of the legal fraternity, the clergy, the business community and other professional groups are quite apprehensive and fear-stricken that the proposed replacement of the Privy Council, with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will rob the Jamaican people of the quality justice the Privy Council has been offering these many years. This is because the justice system in Jamaica is seriously hamstrung by lack of funds. Money to procure law books for judges and to equip the courts with stenographers and modern technology to facilitate the efficient recording of the court’s proceedings have been a perennial problem. Besides, most of the court buildings are seriously dilapidated. The large backlog of cases in the courts make many conc
