THE EDITOR, Sir:

The extradition of Leebert Ramcharan and Donovan Williams to the United States a few hours after their appeals were dismissed by the Court of Appeal on a Friday afternoon was a callous use of ministerial power. The response by the Minister of Justice to complaints by lawyers for the accused has merely served to compound his indiscretion.

Praxis, common humanity and the interest of justice require that these men should at least have been given the opportunity to (i) consult their attorneys, (ii) bid farewell to their families, (iii) be heard, through their lawyers, by the minister in coming to a decision whether to extradite, and (iv) if necessary, challenge the action or the contemplated action of the minister. They could have been lawfully held in custody, without being reported, for up to two months after their appeals were dismissed. If they had remained in the country for even two workings days before being extradited, the cause of justice would have been advanced.

The minister is not obliged to rubber-stamp the decision of the court.His remit is infinitely wider. He is entitled to consider matters which no court would even dare to entertain in deciding whether to extradite. He must exercise his discretion or make his decision in a judicial and judicious manner. He is not compelled to extradite. In a case like the present one, where the accused are Jamaicans and the offences were alleged to have been committed in Jamaica, he can refuse to extradite. Indeed, the case could be tried in Jamaica. This peremptory extradition is effectively a contemptuous ousting of the jurisdiction of the Jamaican court. So much for justice and independence!

Access to justice

In Jamaica the Court of Appeal is virtually the final court in extradition cases, unless issues outside of "habeas corpus" (for example, constitutional points) are involved. Generally, there is no right of appeal to the Privy Council - a quite alarming situation, since many, perhaps most, other Commonwealth Caribbean countries enjoy this right. It is of utmost importance that accused persons be afforded every facility to access justice before being surrendered to an alien jurisdiction. Justice should not be short-changed, abridged or dispensed in a peremptory manner. Nicodemus extraditions are forbidden.

When extradition of a Jamaican citizen to the United States is contemplated, the Minister should be particularly careful as that country is the bastion of tainted justice. Even in an adversarial and accusatorial system of criminal justice, which exists in Jamaica, trust is essential. In this matter, trust has been shattered. Justice has received much more than a black eye. It has been grievously wounded.

Is the practising bar going to remain silent and inactive about this matter?

I am, etc.,

BERESFORD HAY

P.O. Box 1191, Kingston 8