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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jun 13, CMC – Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Delroy Chuck has urged Parliament to revisit the Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Act, 2024, which seeks to remove the British monarch as Jamaica’s Head of State, calling for the reform process to be advanced without delay.
Chuck said MPs should review the legislation with a view to amending or refining it so that it can be debated and passed.
“For Jamaica’s sake, let us look at the Bill and see how it can be amended, if necessary, and modified so that this Parliament, at the earliest possible time, can debate and remove the monarch. We need to become a republic; there is no need to delay this process,” he said during his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.
The minister said Jamaica’s transition to a republic should proceed as a priority, while stressing the importance of parliamentary consensus.
He also indicated that the question of Jamaica’s final appellate court would be taken to the public through a series of constitutional town hall meetings.
“The final appellate court has many possibilities. We can go the route of Hong Kong, where the final appellate court consists of international judges and Hong Kong judges, and they sit at the final appellate court. I don’t mind if the final appellate court in Jamaica, that five Caribbean court judges sit, but it must be a Jamaican final court,” Chuck said.
The justice minister also appealed to Opposition Leader Mark Golding to re-engage in the constitutional reform process, noting that a consensus would be required to advance several proposed changes.
“We can do a fair amount of piecemeal, putting in the Electoral Commissioner of Jamaica as a part of it, the Public Defender and other pieces. But without the consensus of this Parliament, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
“But, if we’re not going to go and do a process, we may well have to do it because we have Bills there to put in the Electoral Commissioner and the Public Defender as a part of the Constitution. But we want it to be a consensus of this Parliament,” he added.
Chuck said the Ministry has continued a targeted public education programme on constitutional matters, including the distribution of more than 400 Jamaican-branded consolidated copies of the Constitution.
“We look forward to a renewed effort to get our Constitution reflecting what we want,” he said.
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