THE LEADERSHIP of the Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica called yesterday for national consultation over the proposed Caribbean Court of Justice.
The statement was issued by the Archdiocese of Kingston on behalf of Archbishop Edgerton Clarke of Kingston, Bishop Charles Dufour of Montego Bay, and Bishop Paul Boyle of Mandeville.
It called for the formation of a special commission, including leaders of all political parties and leaders of civil society, to undertake "a broad, non-partisan consultation to reach a position of consensus."
The bishops said the guiding principle for whether the court should be established at this time was to determine if sufficient provision had been made for the protection of basic human rights, especially the rights of the poor.
The statement cited four basic conditions for the establishment of the proposed court: insulation from political interference, a demonstrated commitment to the reform of the lower courts, the guarantee of financial resources, and consensus on a national level.
While the statement said "the position of the Bishops was in no way intended to be politically partisan," the view of the Roman Catholic leaders happens to coincide with several of the concerns voiced by some interest groups and both opposition political parties.
These groups have, for the most part, opposed the "full-steam-ahead" approach taken by the ruling People's National Party to set up the CCJ. These groups have argued that while the establishment of the court might be a desirable aim, it would not be appropriate at this time, under present conditions.
The opposition Jamaica Labour Party has threatened that if the court is established, the party would take the country out of it as soon as it returned to power.
In the face of persistent criticism from several quarters, the government has said a referendum would eventually be held to have the court entrenched in the Jamaican Constitution.
The Senate on Friday passed the bill to establish the court, giving Prime Minister P.J. Patterson the green light to ratify the agreement with other regional leaders in February 2001.
