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Caribbean Islands GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The Governmental System
Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary
democracy based on the Westminster model, with a functional two-
party system. Under this system of government, the prime minister
and his cabinet are responsible to the legislature, and universal
suffrage exists for citizens over the age of eighteen. The clauses
of the 1962 Constitution, which consists of 138 articles in 10
chapters, may be amended by majorities of two-thirds in both houses
of Parliament or, if the Senate does not concur, with the approval
of a special majority of the electorate voting in referendum.
Jamaica's Constitution entitles anyone born on the island to
Jamaican citizenship, which may be revoked if that person becomes
a citizen of another country. Children and spouses of Jamaicans
also may claim citizenship even if born outside of Jamaica. Chapter
3 of the Constitution grants all persons residing in Jamaica
fundamental individual rights and freedoms, such as life, liberty,
security of person, property ownership, and protection from
arbitrary arrest or detention. The Constitution also guarantees
freedom of conscience and expression, including freedom of speech
and press; peaceful assembly and association, including the right
to join a trade union; freedom of movement and residence within the
country and of foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation; and
due process of law, including protection against double jeopardy or
retroactive punishment.
The Constitution forbids inhumane treatment and racial, sexual,
or political discrimination. Jamaican women are accorded full
equality, and the 1975 Employment Act guarantees them equal pay for
the same work. The legal status of women was reflected in the
substantial number of women in influential positions in the civil
service and government in the 1980s. The Supreme Court is given
original jurisdiction over matters concerning civil rights, and
cases arising from them are promised a fair hearing within a
reasonable time. Individual rights and freedoms are explicitly
subject to respect for rights of others and the public interest in
matters of defense, order, health, and morality.
Although an independent member of the British Commonwealth of
Nations (see Appendix B) since 1962, Jamaica has retained the
British monarch as its chief of state. Executive power is vested
nominally in the queen but exercised by the governor general, whom
the queen appoints on recommendation of the prime minister. The
governor general, who has the right to be kept informed on any
aspect of the conduct of government, wields the
prerogatives of judicial pardon, performs the ceremonial duties of
head of state, makes appointments to public offices, formally
assents to bills before they can become law, and summons and
adjourns Parliament. In most matters, the governor general acts
only on the advice of the prime minister, but occasionally on the
advice of both the latter and the leader of the opposition, or with
the assistance of the Privy Council, whose six members are
appointed by the governor general after consultation with the prime
minister. At least two members of the Privy Council must be persons
holding or having held public office. Its functions are to advise
the governor general on exercising the royal prerogative to grant
appeals for mercy and on disciplinary matters from the three
service commissions. Its decisions can be appealed to the Privy
Council in London, which is the final resort.
The cabinet, which is responsible to the House of
Representatives, is the "principal instrument of policy." Directed
by the prime minister, it usually has had from thirteen to fifteen
members heading ministries staffed chiefly by the civil service.
During the 1980s, the three most important portfolios have been
those of finance and planning, national security, and foreign
affairs. The Constitution stipulates that "not less than two nor
more than four of the Ministers shall be persons who are members of
the Senate."
As a result of the cabinet reorganization of October 1986,
ministries were as follows: agriculture; construction; education;
foreign affairs and industry; health; justice and attorney general;
labor; local government; mining, energy, and tourism; national
security; public service; public utilities and transport; social
security and consumer affairs; and youth and community development.
Ministries were often separated or combined. For example, the
Ministry of National Security was combined with the Ministry of
Justice in 1974, but separated again in October 1986 as a result of
cabinet changes announced by Prime Minister Seaga.
Ministers, especially the prime minister, may hold more than
one portfolio, and they may also supervise statutory boards set up
to augment the usual departments. Ministers may be assisted by
parliamentary secretaries. A cabinet member may lose his position
or be forced to resign as a result of losing either his seat in
Parliament or the confidence of the prime minister. A minister's
power and prestige depend on party standing and loyalty, as well as
individual ability.
The prime minister is the most important member of the cabinet
and the acknowledged leader of the majority party. The governor
general selects as prime minister the party leader favored by the
majority of House members. The prime minister selects other cabinet
members from Parliament, directs the arrangement and conduct of
cabinet business, and acts as the government's chief spokesperson
at home and abroad. Control over foreign policy has remained firmly
in the hands of the prime minister. The prime minister may be
removed by resigning or otherwise ceasing to be a member of the
House of Representatives or by being given a vote of no confidence
by a majority of House members.
Under Jamaica's two-party system, the leader of the opposition
is an institutionalized position, receiving a higher rate of
remuneration than ordinary members of Parliament and exercising
consultative functions, especially on appointments to public
offices. The opposition leader is appointed by the governor general
and is either the one who is "best able to command the support of
the majority of those who do not support the government," or the
leader of the largest single group in opposition. The opposition
leader is expected to challenge the government and provide an ever-
ready alternative for Parliament and the public. The
institutionalized role of the opposition leader and Jamaica's
democratic tradition give the opposition considerable freedom to
criticize the government.
Modeled after the British Parliament, Jamaica's Parliament is
the country's supreme legislative body. In addition to an elected
House of Representatives and an appointed Senate (upper house), the
Parliament consists of a ceremonial head, who is the queen or her
representative, and the governor general. The latter nominates the
twenty-one members of the Senate: thirteen on the prime minister's
advice and eight on the opposition leader's advice. The sixty House
members (formerly
fifty-three) are elected by universal adult suffrage for five years
(subject to dissolution) in elections held in each of the country's
sixty constituencies. The Constitution requires that the prime
minister call a general election no later than five years after the
first sitting of the previous Parliament. To qualify for
appointment to the Senate or for election to the House, a person
must be a citizen of Jamaica or another Commonwealth country, be
age twenty-one or over, and ordinarily have resided in Jamaica for
the immediately preceding twelve months.
In addition to submitting bills, the Senate reviews legislation
submitted by the House and may delay legislative bills for seven
months and money bills for one month. The Senate delay may be
overridden if a majority in the House passes such bills three times
in succession. For a constitutional amendment to pass Parliament,
however, Senate concurrence is essential. As in many other
Commonwealth countries, the existence of an upper house (Senate)
permits useful participation in public affairs to those who might
not wish to run for election; it also encourages the patronage
offerings of the major political parties. The cabinet, which is the
executive branch of government responsible to Parliament, must
include two to four senators; others may be appointed as
parliamentary secretaries to assist cabinet members.
The House of Representatives initiates all financial bills, but
other bills may be introduced in either house. Bills designed to
implement government policy usually are introduced by a cabinet
minister. The House regulates its own procedures and chooses its
own officers, including the speaker, who acts as a nonpartisan
chairman of proceedings and enjoys considerable prestige. Although
Parliament, and particularly its House of Representatives, has a
number of standing committees, these have relatively little
investigative power; they also have not provided a locus for
checking the executive, a task undertaken by the parliamentary
opposition.
The conduct of parliamentary business requires the presence of
quorums: eight in the Senate and sixteen in the House. Absenteeism,
a longstanding problem, often has been criticized publicly. A
majority of those present and voting usually make the decisions.
Parliamentary sessions must not be held more than six months apart.
Elections must take place every five years, but the terms of
members of Parliament may be extended twice, each time for one
year, in case of war or national emergency. Although the
legislature traditionally has enjoyed a high position, effective
legislative powers are concentrated in the cabinet.
Members of Parliament are immune from arrest and protected
against lawsuits arising from their duties. Each house may exempt
members from vacating their seats over conflict of interest
matters. Members, however, may be disqualified for insanity,
bankruptcy, allegiance to a foreign power, holdings in firms
contracting with the government, holding other public office, or
conviction for corrupt electoral practices.
The prime minister may call elections earlier than the law
requires if his government loses the confidence of the House of
Representatives, or if he feels the need to call for a public
mandate on an important issue. Thus, the incumbent government holds
the initiative, although the Constitution attempts to safeguard the
impartiality of the actual process. Elections are supervised by a
senior civil servant as chief electoral officer, a staff consisting
of a returning officer in each constituency, election clerks, and
a polling clerk at each polling station. Votes are counted in the
presence of the candidates or their agents to minimize charges of
fraud. A returning officer may cast a vote to decide a tie.
Constituencies are demarcated by a six-member standing
parliamentary committee, but alterations favoring the party in
power are not unknown. Security forces vote in advance of election
day so that they can be deployed across the island on that date.
Each constituency elects one candidate and the winner requires
only a simple majority. Thus, the number of seats won by a party
may not reflect accurately the number of votes cast for it, and the
disparity in seats won by the two parties is usually higher than
the variance between the total votes. Candidates, most of them
sponsored by the JLP and PNP, are nominated twenty-three days
before an election. The central committees of these two parties
select those who will receive the party tickets and the
constituencies from which they will run. Each nomination must be
accompanied by a deposit, which is forfeited if the candidate
receives fewer than one-eighth of the votes cast. Campaign expenses
are limited by law, and influencing voters unduly is prohibited.
Loopholes exist, however, and have been used.
Although the Constitution is explicitly declared to be supreme,
it may be subject to judicial review, as may laws inconsistent with
its provisions. A parliament in which the ruling party has a
comfortable majority may amend the charter relatively easily in
accordance with the traditional doctrine of parliamentary
sovereignty. The content and concepts of Jamaican law are basically
the same as those of Britain. Nevertheless, the Jamaican Parliament
occasionally has questioned the relevance of British decisions;
statutes enacted by the Jamaican legislative body increasingly have
taken into consideration local conditions.
Despite Jamaica's well-developed judicial system, it and the
police force were widely criticized in the mid-1980s because of
dramatic increases in political and criminal violence. Many
believed that the judicial system had deteriorated and that the
authority and dignity of the courts had diminished. Critics noted
that many of the new judges and lawyers were not as well educated
as in the past and lacked self-confidence. Since the early 1970s,
only graduates of the three-year West Indies Faculty of Law or the
two-year graduate School of Legal Education have been permitted to
practice law in Jamaica, whereas previously most Jamaican lawyers
received their legal training in Britain. In February 1986, Carl
Stone, Jamaica's leading political scientist, criticized what he
referred to as the criminal justice system's corrupt practice of
bribing juries and rendering corrupt judgments in favor of those
who have political or economic power.
Despite antiquated laws and overcrowded jails, Jamaicans
generally have respected the rule of law and the system of justice
inherited from the British. The principle of habeas corpus, which
is rooted in English common law, is stated explicitly in Jamaican
statutes enacted either before or since independence. It is also
respected by the courts and police. Bail may be granted on a
discretionary basis. The courts operate at three broad levels: the
Court of Appeal; the Supreme Court; and the Resident Magistrate's
Court, of which there are nineteen. Other judicial bodies are the
Coroner's Court, Traffic Court, Petty Sessions Court, juvenile
courts, Revenue Court, Family Court, and Gun Court (see National
Security, this ch.). Justices of the peace, who are local notables
without legal training, preside over courts of petty sessions.
The eight-member Court of Appeal is at the apex of the court
hierarchy in Jamaica. This court is headed by a president, who is
appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the prime
minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition. It
is also staffed by a chief justice and six other judges appointed
by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and the
opposition leader. It sits in two divisions in Kingston throughout
the year. A person who is dissatisfied with the decision of another
court, except petty sessions, may appeal to this court. Section 110
of the Constitution provides that decisions of the Court of Appeal
can be taken on appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council in London in grave civil or criminal cases, for matters
deemed of great public importance, or as decided by Parliament or
the Court of Appeal itself. The Privy Council is given final
jurisdiction on interpretation of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court is headed by the chief justice, who is
appointed in the same manner as the president of the Court of
Appeal. It is also staffed by five other judges, a senior puisne
judge, and other judicial officials. The Supreme Court has
unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases and can dispense
summary justice without jury in certain criminal cases. It sits in
Kingston for the trial of civil cases; for criminal cases, it
serves as a circuit court in the capital town of each parish.
The Resident Magistrate's Court, which includes the Petty
Sessions Court, deals with minor infractions, but may also indict
an individual for a serious offense, which would then be
adjudicated in a circuit court. Kingston has four resident
magistrate courts; St. Andrew, three; and the other parishes, one
each. Circuit court judges exercise broad discretion in imposing
sentences for serious violations of law.
Constitutional provisions relating to the appointment and
tenure of the higher judiciary provide safeguards for their
independence from government. Appointments are made by the governor
general in consultation with the prime minister, the leader of the
opposition, and a judicial service commission. Judges are almost
always appointed from within the judicial department of the civil
service.
The career civil service is largely responsible for
administering governmental policy; as in Britain, it is organized
into six categories: administrative, professional, technical,
executive, clerical, and manual. The Constitution details the
conditions of service, including pensions. Seniority and
performance in competitive examinations are taken into
consideration for promotion. The civil service is presumed to be
nonpartisan in discharging its duties. Separate public commissions,
appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister and
opposition leader, are responsible for the employees of the career
civil service, including the judicial branch, police, local
government employees, and public school teachers. The Ministry of
Finance also has supervisory authority over personnel management.
Under Seaga's Staff Adjustment Programme, employment in public
administration was reduced sharply during the 1984-86 period from
an estimated 120,000 employees in 1984 to 79,900 by late 1986.
Jamaica's relatively large public sector in 1984 included 36,486
members of the civil service; 16,613 employees in local government
services; and about 6,000 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force
(JCF), the service primarily responsible for internal security.
Although the nation inherited a well-trained civil service from the
British, by 1980 observers were describing it as heavily
overstaffed and highly inefficient.
Before Jamaica achieved internal autonomy, senior civil
servants were generally British, enjoyed high prestige, and wielded
considerable power. Policies and administrative decisions were
decided mostly in Whitehall or Jamaica House (the governor's
residence). This situation changed when political authority passed
into the hands of popularly elected Jamaicans, with whose
nationalist goals civil servants were not necessarily in sympathy.
The status and power of the senior civil servants have declined
since then. The more capable civil servants were lured away by
foreign or private companies offering attractive working conditions
and substantially higher wages. Consequently, economic and
political development was hindered by shortages of skilled
personnel at the higher management levels. Jamaican leaders
frequently have bypassed the career civil service and the
ministries by creating statutory boards or corporations and
appointing their supporters to high positions in these entities.
Career diplomats are chosen by competitive examination, and career
servants may move between the foreign service and the senior civil
service.
At the local level, the nation, a unitary state, is divided
into fourteen administrative parishes (see fig.__, Administrative
Divisions Jamaica.). The Kingston and St. Andrew Parishes are
amalgamated as the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation. A parochial
council, which exercises limited self-government, is elected in
each parish by universal adult suffrage at times other than those
at which general elections are held. The 278 parish councilors were
voluntary workers whose allowances only covered attendance at
council meetings. Although established to provide the basic
amenities for local populations, the parish councils became
increasingly dependent on financial assistance from the central
government because of insufficient revenues from local taxes, fees,
and licenses. Government indifference sometimes has frustrated
local initiatives directed toward feasible projects, regardless of
the party in power. Because wealthier individuals tended to
monopolize parish council positions, relations of this local elite
with the poorer masses were based more on authoritarian paternalism
than cooperation.
Central government financial assistance has diminished the
autonomy of local governments and reinforced habits of subservience
acquired in the colonial period. The general trend since 1944 has
been toward the centralization of political power away from the
parishes to the capital. Stone, who is also Jamaica's leading
pollster and a professor of political sociology at (UWI), the
University of the West Indies documented this trend in his frequent
and respected Stone Polls, sponsored and published, beginning in
1976, by the independent but generally pro-JLP Daily Gleaner
newspaper. A decrease in voter turnout for local elections since
1944 was symptomatic of this trend. By the 1980s, politics had
become highly centralized, and political issues focused on the
national rather than local level. A September 1984 Stone Poll
revealed that only 58 percent of registered voters were likely to
vote in any forthcoming local government elections. Many voters
felt that local government had become useless.
Data as of November 1987
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