Christian Tavares-Finson blasts Golding’s comments on CCJ strife

Government Senator Christian Tavares-Finson has strongly rebuked Opposition Leader Mark Golding's remarks regarding Jamaica's potential adoption of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as its final appellate court. Tavares-Finson described Golding's position as "grossly premature and disingenuous."

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grossly premature and disingenuous

Golding had reportedly stated that the People's National Party (PNP) remains committed to moving forward with the CCJ, even amidst recent allegations of interference in case deliberations, inappropriate panel selections, and internal conflicts among CCJ judges. Golding had also suggested that the leaked exchanges indicated a healthy openness among judges to express differing views, which he considered a foundation for a strong judicial institution.

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such healthy openness in expressing contested opinions is a sound basis upon which a strong judicial institution has been built

However, Tavares-Finson vehemently rejected this interpretation. He characterized Golding's attempt to downplay the seriousness of the allegations as "at best, disingenuous" and "immature." The senator argued that a more appropriate response would be to support calls for a public inquiry into the "very serious allegations" raised by the judges themselves. He stressed that these issues originated from within the court, making them particularly significant.

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His comments are both premature and immature because a sober perspective to adopt would be to support calls for a public enquiry into the very serious allegations made by the judges themselves who are members of the CCJ.

Tavares-Finson reiterated the Jamaica Labour Party's stance that any move away from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to the CCJ must be preceded by a national referendum. He also accused Golding and the PNP of employing "obvious delay tactics" and urged them to focus on constitutional reforms where consensus exists, such as becoming a republic, while deferring the contentious issue of the final appellate court.

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It must be noted that these allegations are not extraneous to the Court but are coming from within. That the Opposition leader has not, at minimum, called for wider ventilation of the issues and an enquiry to ensure that the Court functions as a proper judicial entity should is, at best, disappointing.