Carib court is overdue

Editor Madam:

MAYBE THE reasons for opposing the withdrawal of Jamaica from the jurisdiction of the English Privy Council are crystal clear to those legal luminaries among others, who do so, but as a rank layman, I am puzzled.

My initial inclination is to think of one of the most basic of relationships which involves separation on the attainment of maturity. It is obviously, that of a child and his/her parents, and of course, the child who continues to cling indefinitely to his/her parents' apron strings, so to speak, after this significant event, is quite often a source of concern and distress.

A country's claim to be granted its Independence is invariably premised on the contention that it has come of age as reflected in its ability to manage its own affairs. But it is nevertheless understandable that for expedient reasons the newly independent country might ask its former colonial parent to perform a particular function over a transitional period. However, if it fails within a reasonable time to retrieve this last vestige of its Independence, it could be taken as implying that it lacks the competence to fulfil its role as a truly independent country.

What amazes me even more is the apparent fear that politicians might subvert the integrity of the Caribbean Court. There are seemingly those who so distrust the region's politicians and professionals, that in spite of promised safeguards, they still cling to this view. Yet, these are some of the people who regularly swear by the American Constitution and practices.

In reality, how can a court be set up in any country in the democratic world without the input of the politician at some point? It smacks of an abject inferiority complex in that while they readily accept the politician's involvement elsewhere, they repudiate it at home in the Caribbean region.

The Privy Council could not have been expected or intended to serve as a final Court of Appeal in perpetuity and the termination of this interim arrangement is, in my view, long overdue.

I am, etc.,

WILTON F. SOLOMON, Discovery Bay

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