MONTEGO BAY, St James – Capital punishment, defamation and access to information are among some of the controversial issues to be addressed during the 25th anniversary Conference of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), which will be opened by Prime Minister Bruce Golding at the Ritz Carlton resort in Rose Hall tomorrow.

Held every four years, the last being in Nairobi, Kenya, the conference will be attended by over 400 attorneys, judges and other legal officers from across the Commonwealth plus their visitors.

“It is going to be a most forceful intellectual event which will feature presentations by some of the most compelling contemporary thinkers in legal circles,” said attorney-at-law Clayton Morgan, president of the Cornwall Bar Association. A member of the local steering committee that is helping to organise the event, Morgan said Jamaica had been given the honour of hosting this year’s special Jubilee Conference in recognition of the fact that the association was launched in Ocho Rios 25 years ago.

The CLA, which is headquartered in London represents hundreds of attorneys and legal officers throughout the Commonwealth.

Golding’s opening address will be followed by:

. The Right Honourable Justice de la Bastide, president of The Caribbean Court of Justice;

. Justice Zaila McCalla, Chief Justice of Jamaica;

. Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, president of The Jamaican Bar Association;

. Wilfred Abrahams, president of The Organisation of Caribbean Bar Associations;

. Ron Heinrich, president of The Commonwealth Lawyer’s Association and

. Dr Lloyd Barnett, conference chairman.

Other highlights of the conference will include:

. A keynote address by The Right Honourable Lord Hoffman, entitled “The University of Human Rights and the Importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”;

. An address by Sir David Simmons, Chief Justice of Barbados, on “Modern Concepts of Public and Corporate Good Governance”;

. A lecture by Justice Abdulla Conteh, Chief Justice of Belize, on “Cruel and Inhumane Punishment – Commonwealth Trends”;

. An address by Justice Hugh Small, QC on “Defamation and Government Transparency”;

. An address by Professor Richard Colland of South Africa on “Right to Information and Whistleblower Legislation”;

. A lecture by Justice of Appeal, C Dennis Morrison on “Legal Professional Privilege”.

. A lecture by Ethlyn Norton-Coke on “Double-Taxation Treaties and Tax Incentives in the Caribbean Environment”.

. A fund-raising concert staged by The Independent

Jamaican Counsel on Human Rights entitled “Reggae for Rights” on Friday night, October 17 at the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal, featuring John Holt, Ken Boothe with Lloyd Parkes and We the People Band.

Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados will deliver the closing address of the conference on Sunday.n