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Privy Council Rules Against Jamaica

The appeal to the British Privy Council by the Jamaican Opposition on the process necessary for establishing The Caribbean Court of Justice as the final Court of Appeal has been decided and on Thursday, February 03, 2005, the Prime Minister of Jamaica released the following statement:

Earlier today the Privy Council handed down its decision in the litigation concerning the Caribbean Court of Justice (the CCJ). This judgment will affect not only Jamaica but other countries in the region with similar constitutional arrangements.

The effect of the legislation under review would have been to abolish appeals to the Privy Council and to substitute a right of final appeal to the CCJ. The legislation would have also provided for the establishment of the original jurisdiction of the CCJ to deal with matters pertaining to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

The key question identified by the Privy Council was whether the procedure adopted in enacting that legislation complied with the requirements laid down in the Constitution. In reaching its judgment, the Privy Council specifically said that it had no difficulty in accepting, and did not doubt, that the CCJ Agreement represented a serious and conscientious endeavour to create a new regional court of high quality and complete independence, enjoying all the advantages that a regional court could hope to enjoy.

The Privy Council accepted that the Jamaican Parliament could abolish appeals to the Privy Council by a simple majority of its members following the procedure that had been adopted.

However it held that the legislation to establish the CCJ as the final court of appeal should have been passed by another procedure. It should have been passed by the procedure appropriate for amending an entrenched provision which would require, among other things, an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of each House of Parliament.

The Privy Council held that since the Acts were put forward as a package and since it was not the intention of Parliament to abolish appeals to the Privy Council without replacing it with the right of appeal to the CCJ, the two could not be severed.

Some of our CARICOM partners have passed legislation to establish the CCJ as a court of original jurisdiction to deal with single market matters. Others are actively in the process of doing so. We will therefore have to have consultations with all our CARICOM partners concerning the way forward with respect to the establishment of this court as a tribunal for the resolution of issues concerning the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

The Jamaican Government remains committed to the establishment of the CCJ as our final appellate court. It intends to take the necessary steps, arising from this decision to honour our commitments to the Jamaican people and our partners in the region.

China's Vice President Pledges Continued Assistance To The Caribbean

Zeng Qinghong, Vice President of the People's Republic of China, pledged China's willingness to continue assisting Caribbean countries without attaching any political conditions.

The Vice President was speaking at the opening of the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum 2005, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.

He proposed: maintaining the exchange of high level visits and cementing political relations; creating new forms and exploring existing areas of cooperation; giving full play to the role of government in providing quality services; promoting cultural exchanges and enhancing mutual friendship; and enhancing consultation and cooperation to safeguard common interests.

Expounding on the proposals, Mr. Qinghong said that good political relations was an important foundation and a strong guarantee for friendly relations and cooperation in the economic, trade and other fields.

China has established diplomatic ties with 10 Caribbean countries to date, almost all of whose leaders have paid visits to China, and Chinese leaders have also visited some of these territories.

Mr. Qinghong pointed out that the Caribbean countries, over the years, have supported China firmly as was evident last year when China got strong support from many Caribbean countries in its application for permanent observer status in the Organization of American States (OAS).

Meanwhile, the Vice President said that effort should be made to tap into the trade potentials and to optimize the China-Caribbean trade structure. He spoke highly of the recognition of China's full market status by the Caribbean countries including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St. Lucia, Dominica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.

At the multilateral level, the Vice President said that as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), China stood ready to enhance cooperation with the Caribbean and to offer support in the WTO and other multilateral settings.

He noted also, that as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China would continue to safeguard the rights and interests of the vast number of developing countries, those in the Caribbean included, in various international arenas.

China is the largest developing country in the world, maintaining an average of 9.4 per cent annual growth for 26 consecutive years.

Export and import, only US$20.6 billion in 1978, shot up to US$1.1 trillion in 2004, with the utilized foreign investment totaling US$562.1 billion in accumulative terms by the end of 2004.

"I am confident that China's development will not only benefit the Chinese people but also provide a wide spectrum of growth opportunities for all countries around the world, including Latin America and the Caribbean", he stated.

The Vice President's visit to Jamaica wraps up a five-state tour of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Source: JIS

Jamaica and China Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Jamaica signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Jamaican railway system.

The agreement, signed on Feb 2nd 2005 between the Ministry of Transport and Works and the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp Group (CNMEC), will likely resuscitate both passenger and cargo transport by providing "adequate types and numbers of passenger coaches, cargo, wagons and locomotives".

This is not the first attempt by Jamaica to restart its railroad system that was abandoned since 1989 after years of losses. In 2002 Government had announced a US$3 million agreement with the Indian group RITES to get the trains rolling again.

"We had an agreement with Canada and India but that fell through, so Cabinet has decided on this agreement with China to see what will happen from here," Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill is quoted as saying.

Nine MOU documents were signed between Jamaica and China that included tourism co-operation and Chinese language training.

The agreements are part of the China-Caribbean Trade Fair and the Economic and Trade Forums taking place in Kingston.

At the opening of the trade fair Jamaica's minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, KD Knight, emphasized that although the two nations "represent two opposite ends of the international economic spectrum", both have succeeded in forming mutually beneficial linkages in the areas of manufacturing and production.

"We in the Caribbean represent small, vulnerable economies which may account for less than 0.1 per cent of world trade; China is a global trade and economic giant accounting for 5.5 per cent of global trade amounting to US$1.15 trillion, and is the third largest trading nation in the world," Knight noted.

"Despite these significant differences, we share much in common as developing countries with a common desire to promote sustainable development and economic progress for our peoples," he added.

The disparities were no less apparent that in the composition of the exhibitors. There were 10 Caribbean booths and 80 Chinese; offering such things as motorcycles, cellular phones, water cooling systems, home appliances and electronics.

Sizzla Prefers Time in The Big House

Dancehall artiste Sizzla preferred to spend 15 days in Jail rather than do 15 days of community service. Morant Bay Resident Magistrate's Court (Jamaica) imposed a 15 day sentence on Miguel Collins, (Sizzla) for a breach of the Town and Communities Act.

"He was offered community service of 15 days and he refused, and so he should be remanded for 15 days in the Morant Bay jail," Constable Winston Taylor of the August Town Police Station is quoted as saying.

The news of his imprisonment sparked a short-lived protest in August Town, where Sizzla lives. The demonstrators blocked sections of the main road in the community and threatened that if Sizzla was not released by 4:00 pm they would take their protest "to another level". However, the roadblocks were cleared by police shortly after the protest started.

Air Jamaica Trims Some More

Starting April 3, 2005, Air Jamaica will stop flying between Montego Bay, Jamaica and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

In a press release, vice president of operations and planning, John Lewis said, the suspension of service to Houston is part of the ongoing restructuring effort to bring the airline into financial stability and improving its viability. Mr. Lewis pointed out that as part of its restructuring exercise Air Jamaica had also suspended service to Manchester, Antigua, London and Havana.

The press release noted that "the frequency of flights on other routes has been reduced; five aircraft are being returned, and the restructuring team is reviewing other ways to reduce operating expenses."

According to the executive chairman of Air Jamaica, Dr. Vincent, the airline was thankful of the Jamaican people and Houston "for their support of the airline and its staff." He assured them that "the excellent service and high safety standards to which they have become accustomed will be maintained in this period of transition."

Dr. Lawrence said that "the national airline is important to the country's economy and is a source of pride for the Jamaican people, and everything will be done to ensure that it survives and becomes viable."

Tourism Trade Fair In Ocho Rios

Tourism industry stakeholders in St. Ann are preparing for the staging of a trade fair to be held in the resort town of Ocho Rios from February 7 to 12.

The event is being organized by the Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) in collaboration with the Port Authority of Jamaica.

"Most of our properties will be participating in the event," said Vana Taylor, chairperson for the Chapter. "Our large hotels, attractions, villas and apartments will be participating and it is hoped that the tourists will become more exposed to our land products and seek to enjoy our attractions even more".

Meanwhile, she said that the week of the fair would be a busy one in terms of cruise ship arrivals, with eight port calls expected.

Scheduled to arrive are: Enchantment of the Seas on February 7; Imagination and Navigator of the Seas on February 8; Radiance of the Seas, February 9; Costa Atlantica and Triumph on February 10; Delphin on February 11 and Oceana on February 12.

Miss Taylor said that the Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay Chapter of the JHTA would be working hard to ensure positive growth in the tourism sector and appealed to the public to continue to show hospitality to the island's visitors.

Source: JIS