PNP welcomes court ruling that SOEs between 2018 and 2023 were unconstitutional

Opposition leader Mark Golding says that today's Supreme Court ruling, which declared that the multiple states of public emergency (SOEs) between 2018 and 2023 were unconstitutional, as a resounding victory for the rule of law and the people of Jamaica.

"The Court has affirmed what the PNP has long argued: that the multiple and extended use of SOEs as a routine crime-fighting tool is a violation of the Constitution's extraordinary emergency powers," Opposition leader Mark Golding said.

The court found that SOEs declared on 15 separate dates -- including January 2018, March 2018, April 2019, June 2020, and as recently as February 2023 -- were not made for a constitutionally valid purpose, were not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society, and were inconsistent with the Jamaican Constitution.

In a major rebuke of the Government's use of SOEs in crime fighting, the court also ruled that three so-called rolling proclamations made by the Governor General in November and December 2022 amounted to a breach of the separation of powers, as they effectively bypassed Parliament's role in extending emergency powers beyond the constitutionally permitted 14 days.

The declarations mean the challenged SOEs were void and unconstitutional.

The case against the government was brought by the PNP's General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell.

Describing the Government's use of SOEs as a sustained abuse of extraordinary executive power and a serious threat to the rights and freedoms of Jamaicans, Golding stated that the Supreme Court's ruling affirms that no administration can suspend freedoms under the pretext of public safety without satisfying the constitutional safeguards of necessity, proportionality and parliamentary accountability.

"The SOE, which is the Constitution's last-resort mechanism against crises that threaten to subvert the democratic order of the State, was unlawfully deployed by the Government as a tool of routine policing, often incorporating entire parishes and sometimes being renewed without parliamentary oversight," he said.

Golding highlighted the recent decline in the country's murder rate, which he noted has been achieved through targeted law enforcement measures, and not recurring SOEs.

"Jamaica's long-term security hinges on appropriate policing strategies, robust democratic institutions and community-led solutions, achievable without unconstitutional violations of fundamental rights and freedoms," he said.

He added; "This win belongs to every Jamaican who values justice and constitutional order. The PNP brought this case to defend the constitutional rights and freedoms of the Jamaican people, and because we believe there are ways of successfully overcoming Jamaica's problem of violent crime without violating the Constitution. We will remain steadfast in advocating for holistic, rights-respecting strategies to secure our communities and strengthen Jamaica's democracy system of government."

- Sashana Small

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