Privy Council withdraws its review of merits of appeal rule

By Kimone Witter    

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) has withdrawn its review of merits of appeal rule that local attorneys had argued would have violated the constitutional right of Jamaicans to have the country’s final appellate court hear their appeals.

In a statement on its website, the JCPC said in light of the responses to its consultation on the proposed new rules, the Board has decided not to proceed with proposed Rule 23 and is suspending the operation of PD 4.7.1 pending further consultation on a suitable case management arrangement.

The Jamaican Bar Association said the Privy Council advised it of the decision at a meeting on Wednesday.

The lobby group for local lawyers wrote to the JCPC with concerns about the change on May 14.  

Rule 23 or the ‘review of merits appeal’ rule would have formalised the process by which appeals to the Privy Council, other than appeals where permission was granted by the Privy Council, would be reviewed by a single judge, and possibly a panel of three judges, of the Privy Council to determine whether the appeal was devoid of merit.

JAMBAR president Kevin Powell said the group also secured the opportunity to provide comments on other proposed revisions to Privy Council rules and to consult further with the committee on the alternatives to Rule 23.

Mr. Powell said this would be aimed at assisting litigants in identifying appeals that may be without merit to save time and costs without derogating from their right of appeal.

The Jamaican Government’s position on the proposed rule came through Justice Minister Delroy Chuck who said that the move by the Privy Council was to ensure that only cases that have merit are adjudicated.

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