Dear Editor,
Quite wisely, our parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly to allow private individuals to sue other private individuals for breaches of their human rights under the 2011 Charter of Fundamentals Rights and Freedoms.
Previously, citizens could only sue the State for human rights violations, despite the fact that most human rights abuses are perpetrated at the hands of our fellow Jamaicans.
While I applaud our leaders for trying to realise greater justice for all Jamaicans, I regret to advise that their best intentions are being frustrated because of the absence of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI).
As it stands, individuals who now wish to claim their rights against others must launch expensive court challenges. These costly and lengthy procedures discourage the assertion of rights, which explains why in the four years since the Charter was passed only one claim against private individuals (the claim against TVJ and CVM for refusing to air the tolerance ad in which I appear) has made it to the Court of Appeal.
The NHRI would allow for speedy administration of such private claims through mediation and other alternate dispute-resolution mechanisms. Private citizens could also represent themselves, thus eliminating the need for expensive lawyers. If no agreement can be reached, or if any party objects to the decision of the NHRI, then they would still have the right to proceed to court. In this way, the administration of justice would be enhanced in Jamaica without diminishing the essential role of our courts as guardians of our Constitution.
I therefore urge our parliamentarians to finish the job that they started and speedily enact an NHRI. There are many examples of such bodies around the world, so there will be no need to reinvent the wheel.
Maurice Tomlinson
mauricet@lgbtiaware
caribbean.com
Time for a national human rights institution
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Quite wisely, our parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly to allow private individuals to sue other private individuals for breaches of their human rights under the 2011 Charter of Fundamentals Rights and Freedoms.
Previously, citizens could only sue the State for human rights violations, despite the fact that most human rights abuses are perpetrated at the hands of our fellow Jamaicans.
While I applaud our leaders for trying to realise greater justice for all Jamaicans, I regret to advise that their best intentions are being frustrated because of the absence of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI).
As it stands, individuals who now wish to claim their rights against others must launch expensive court challenges. These costly and lengthy procedures discourage the assertion of rights, which explains why in the four years since the Charter was passed only one claim against private individuals (the claim against TVJ and CVM for refusing to air the tolerance ad in which I appear) has made it to the Court of Appeal.
The NHRI would allow for speedy administration of such private claims through mediation and other alternate dispute-resolution mechanisms. Private citizens could also represent themselves, thus eliminating the need for expensive lawyers. If no agreement can be reached, or if any party objects to the decision of the NHRI, then they would still have the right to proceed to court. In this way, the administration of justice would be enhanced in Jamaica without diminishing the essential role of our courts as guardians of our Constitution.
I therefore urge our parliamentarians to finish the job that they started and speedily enact an NHRI. There are many examples of such bodies around the world, so there will be no need to reinvent the wheel.
Maurice Tomlinson
mauricet@lgbtiaware
caribbean.com
Time for a national human rights institution
-->