LAWYERS representing the five Portmore residents who had taken the People’s National Party administration to court over the imposition of a toll on the Portmore leg of Highway 2000, yesterday said the change in government will not deter them from pursuing their appeal before the Privy Council.

Speaking at a press conference at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston yesterday, attorney-at-law for the five residents – mayor of Spanish Town, Dr Andrew Wheatley; Councillor Natalie Campbell-Rodrigues (JLP, Westchester division); Councillor Keith Blake (JLP, Independence City division); Valrene Bennett; and Anton Young – Oswald James, maintained that while the persons forming the government have changed, the government itself remains the same.

“There is one government of Jamaica. There may be different persons operating that government but there is one government,” he said. “So although there are different personalities assuming those roles there is one government and the complaint is against the government of Jamaica so whomever occupies Jamaica House is the government of Jamaica.”

The United Kingdom-based Privy Council will hear the Portmore toll case next Monday. Yesterday, James said his defence would focus on clarifying what legal mechanism, under Section 13 of the Constitution, allows citizens the right to enjoy property.

“What I will be saying on Monday to the board of the Privy Council is that we are not asking for Section 13 of the constitution to be separately enforced, what we are asking the law lords to do is to advise us of the constitutional content of Section 13, because Section 13 says we have the right to enjoy property. If the Constitution declares that, then there must be some mechanism to vindicate that right,” he said.

James also pointed out that the matter could have far-reaching implications in other Commonwealth countries.

“The significance has to do with the way the constitution in Commonwealth jurisdictions deals with property rights. This matter will be keenly watched by jurists from as far afield as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Africa, India, Zimbabwe, all of those countries because they have similar challenges to the one we have in Portmore, and they will be interested in seeing how the Privy Council deals with this matter,” he said.

The residents had taken the government to court after the PNP administration went ahead and gave permission for the conversion of the old Causeway, linking the capital city of Kingston to the municipality of Portmore, into a six-lane, tolled expressway.

They are contending that being required to pay to use the Causeway, the shortest route to their homes, is a breach of their constitutional right to enjoyment of property.

In March, the Court of Appeal granted final leave to the residents to take the issue to the Privy Council.