Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

Constitutional reform and the burning issues that accompany debate on this matter has once again been placed on the agenda for public debate.

Cabinet yesterday gave instructions that a Green Paper addressing this crucial subject be tabled in the House of Representatives today.

Leader of Government Business in the House, Dr. Peter Phillips, was instructed by Cabinet to table the paper, which sets out specific proposals that have been on the national agenda since 1991.

Green paper changes

The Green Paper speaks to the substitution of Her Majesty the Queen as Head of State by a president; changes to the composition of the Senate and the rewriting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

Further, the proposed changes also focus on the replacement of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice as the country's final court of appeal, as well as procedures with sanctions for parliamentary oversight of the Executive.

Information Minister, Donald Buchanan, said the changes that have been agreed in principle, could not take place unless enacted into law by way of bi-partisan support in Parliament, and approval by a majority of Jamaicans in a national referendum.

Tabled before election

"It would be most unfortunate if these agreements, so painstakingly fashioned over the past 15 years, were to be either abandoned in the course of the forthcoming election campaign or ignored thereafter," said Buchanan.

Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday at Jamaica House, Mr. Buchanan said Cabinet was making sure that the Green Paper was tabled well in advance of the general election.

He said this was to enable Jamaicans "to feel assured that the incoming government, whatever its composition may be, will move to implement them without any unnecessary delay".

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com