THERE WAS controversy at last Wednesday's meeting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament considering the Charter of Rights Bill.
The controversy surrounded the planned removal of a clause aimed at safeguarding the laws covering buggery, abortion and sexual offences.
Chairman of the committee, Senator A.J. Nicholson, urged members to accept a recommendation submitted by the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship for a special provision to be put in place to protect these laws.
"In the charter, we are removing the savings clause. That is the clause which tells you that all offences before Independence, they live up to now," he explained. "The fear was expressed that if you remove that, a court could rule that matters such as sexual offences, sexual relations, obscene
publications, abortions and the like, (are unconstitutional)."
However this did not find favour with committee member Senator Trevor Munroe.
"?Why single out sexual relations, why not say laws regarding freedom of movement, the Public Order Act, why single out sexual relations for special treatment?" he asked.
"There is no way that I could have a general saving clause relating to these four or five different areas singled out to preserve all that the Governors did during and after slavery into 2006 and beyond," stressed Munroe, who is a professor of government at the University of the West Indies.
The committee eventually agreed that further investigation should be done to determine which laws would be retained.
A submission is to be made to the committee on Tuesday when it is expected to meet for the final time and submit their report to Parliament for tabling on Wednesday.
