Jamaica Justice Minister Says the Final Court Should Be Jamaican, Not Caribbean

The entrance of Middlesex Guildhall in London, where the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, still Jamaica’s final court of appeal, sits. (Photo: Ralf Roletschek, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons)

POLITICS · JAMAICA

Jamaica Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says the country’s eventual final court of appeal should be Jamaican. He ruled out, for now, giving that role to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), a regional court in Trinidad and Tobago.

His comments came in an interview with the Jamaica Observer published on Sunday 4 October. Until the two main parties agree, he said, the Privy Council in London remains Jamaica’s court of last resort.

What Chuck said

The Jamaica justice minister, who also handles constitutional affairs, said there is “a general consensus” among most Jamaicans and within government. The final court, he said, “should be a Jamaican appellate court and not a Caribbean court of justice.”

He called the CCJ “basically a part of a political system that doesn’t exist”. With no Caribbean political system, he argued, Jamaica is not agreeing to the CCJ as its final court “at this present moment”.

He noted that Jamaica has signed on to the CCJ’s original jurisdiction, which handles disputes under the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) treaty. Swapping the Privy Council for the CCJ, in his view, would only replace one external court with another.

He said the Privy Council is the court “we have been using and will continue to use” until Jamaicans agree on a final court. That leaves the current system in place for every pending appeal.

A stalled move to a republic

The remarks are the latest round in a long dispute between Holness’s Jamaica Labour Party government and the opposition PNP. At stake is which court should sit at the top of the system as Jamaica tries to become a republic.

A 2024 republic bill to remove the British monarch has been tabled but not passed. Chuck urged MPs to revisit it in a debate on 10 June 2026, according to the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), the government news agency.

On Sunday he accused the PNP of using accession to the CCJ as a tactic to delay constitutional reform. He said Opposition Leader Mark Golding has not answered a long letter Holness sent him last year.

Chuck suggested Golding pass the file to Zuleika Jess, the opposition justice spokesperson, so she and a team could meet him. He called it “most inappropriate” that no such meeting between the two sides has been organised.

Room for a middle path

The government’s stance still leaves space on who would sit on the bench. In June, Chuck pointed to Hong Kong, whose top court mixes local and international judges.

He told Parliament he would not mind if “five Caribbean court judges sit” on a Jamaican final court, according to JIS. “But it must be a Jamaican final court,” he added.

He has also said the court question will go to the public through constitutional town hall meetings. On Sunday he urged the opposition to form a parliamentary team to find areas that could be agreed and implemented.

The Privy Council remains central to Jamaican legal life, as the recent reparations petition referred to the Privy Council shows. For wider political context, see Jamaica Explained.

What Is Not Yet Known

The Observer report carried no response from the PNP. It is not clear whether Golding will answer Holness’s letter or name a team for talks.

No date has been announced for the town hall meetings or for a debate on the republic bill. Any change to the final court would require amending the Constitution, which needs broad agreement between the parties.

Sources: Jamaica Observer, interview with Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, 4 October 2026; Jamaica Information Service, “Justice Minister Urges MPs to Revisit Bill to Make Jamaica a Republic”, 12 June 2026; Caribbean Court of Justice.

This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief