It would make sense, we feel, if Jamaica's two major political parties seek, ahead of the general election, to arrive at a consensus on their approach to the constitutional issues that either would wish to pursue after the poll.

Debate and agreement now would limit the potentially divisive bickering later on, weakening what now appears to be relatively healthy prospects for the economy. The timing is propitious, given that both sides have something to horse trade over.

Last week, the Government, via the Justice Minister, A.J. Nicholson, announced that it would bring back to Parliament soon after the election, legislation to remove the U.K.-based Privy Council as Jamaica's final court of appeal and replace it with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). It would then follow the passage of the legislation with a referendum to entrench the CCJ as the court of last resort.

All that, of course, is dependent on Mr. Nicholson's party, the People's National Party, gaining its fifth consecutive term in office and thereafter winning the support of Bruce Golding's Jamaica Labour Party for its intention. Neither is assured.

Political polls have up to now indicated that the general election will be close and could go either way, so no party can expect the kind of voter support and parliamentary majority to make the Opposition morally obliged to back its actions. And in any event, the JLP's Shadow Justice Minister, Ms. Dorothy Lightbourne, has already signalled her party's disagreement with the PNP's planned approach.

Neither party, on this score, can legally move without the other. Indeed, the last time the PNP Government sought to remove the Privy Council in favour of the CCJ, it was stalled by the law lords. The British-based judges held that while Parliament, by simple majority, had the right under the Constitution to remove the Privy Council as Jamaica's final court, it could not so simply be replaced by the CCJ.

A court superior to Jamaica's Court of Appeal would have to be similarly entrenched in the Constitution. It did not matter, the Privy Council judges argued, that their court was not so entrenched, since they were incorruptible by political influence. The fact that the CCJ had decent protection under the treaty establishing the court was not good enough, given that the treaty could be changed by the agreement of the participating states.

The problem facing the PNP is its abiding fear of referenda, since it lost the one over four decades ago on Jamaica's continued membership in the West Indies Federation. It agonises that any such vote would not be a plebiscite on the issue at hand, but an event for grousing over that and everything else.

In this case, it would prefer, therefore, agreement between the parties on the matter and a single referendum on the issue, rather than an indicative vote to determine what people want ahead of the passage of the law and a final vote.

The PNP could find that it has a few cards of its own.

Mr. Golding has said that if his party wins the election, he will move for a constitutional amendment to institute a fixed election date. For this to happen Mr. Golding would need the help of the PNP in Opposition. Therein lies an opportunity for give and take.