Constitutional Reform Committee


The Constitutional Reform Committee is a committee of the Government of Jamaica tasked with revising and reforming Jamaica's constitutional arrangements, including the abolition of the monarchy.

Mandate

Its mandate is four-fold:
  1. To assess the implementation of the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional and Electoral Reform, whose report was approved by Parliament in 1995.
  2. To evaluate the recommendations of the JSCCER on establishing the Office of President.
  3. To assist in coordinating the required bipartisan collaboration and national consultation during the various phases of reform work.
  4. To educate the electorate on their role in the referendum process.

    Proposed reforms

The committee was approved by the Cabinet of Jamaica on 16 November 2022 as a consultative, collaborative committee. It was to be supported by a secretariat provided by the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs. The opposition leader, Mark Golding, criticised the government for excluding discussion of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council from the purview of the committee.

First phase

The first phase of reform, expected to run for two months, was to include the repatriation of the Jamaican constitution, the abolition of constitutional monarchy, and the establishment of a republic. The aim was to table legislation in parliament to make Jamaica a republic in May 2023. In late April, Marlene Malahoo Forte said that the scope of the first phase would just be reduced to the abolition of constitutional monarchy: "Maybe we have to deal with the narrow question of just abolishing the monarch in the constitutional make up of Jamaica while we work out the other issues."

Members

The 14 original members of the committee were announced on 23 March 2023.
NameExternal positionPosition within committeeAppointment date
Marlene Malahoo ForteMinister of Legal and Constitutional AffairsCo-chair23 March 2023
Rocky Ricardo MeadeAmbassador Plenipotentiary for National Strategic InterestsCo-chair23 March 2023
Derrick McKoyAttorney General23 March 2023
Tom Tavares-FinsonPresident of the Senate23 March 2023
Ransford BrahamSenator23 March 2023
Donna Scott-MottleySenator23 March 2023
Anthony HyltonMember of Parliament for Saint Andrew Western23 March 2023
Richard AlbertProfessor of Law at the University of Texas at Austin23 March 2023
Lloyd BarnettAttorney-at-law23 March 2023
Hugh SmallAttorney-at-law23 March 2023
David HenryPastor at Swallowfield ChapelFaith-based society representative23 March 2023
Nadeen SpenceStudent services manager at Mary Seacole Hall, UWICivil society representative23 March 2023
Lalieta Davis-MattisChair of the National Committee on Reparations23 March 2023
Sujae BoswellFormer president of the UWI, Mona Guild of StudentsYouth advisor23 March 2023

Criticism

The appointment of Richard Albert was criticised by Christian groups Jamaica CAUSE and Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society as he is a non-national and because of his pro-LGBT views. Dancehall artist Spragga Benz claimed Albert's appointment was a cover for "the West" to promote gender-affirming surgery in Jamaica.