Leader of the House of Representatives Phillip Paulwell has indicated that Parliament will be meeting late into the yuletide season.

He says that this is necessary in order to debate bills pertaining to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), as well as a number of financial bills, no doubt linked to the Extended Fund Facility agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Paulwell told the House at the adjournment last Tuesday that it is proposed to have at least one meeting per week up to December 17, and possibly two to meet the agenda.

“Next week we intend to start the debate in relation to the CCJ bills, but there are some other very important financial bills that will be tabled, and we are hoping to have them passed by the 17th of December. I am asking members, as you plan your schedules, bear that in mind,” he said.

“I wish to remind the House that we can also sit on Wednesdays (in addition to Tuesdays). So, if you wish for us to end a bit earlier, we could be doing two sittings per week,” he pointed out.

However, Gordon House could have a problem accommodating two sittings per week, with a number of select and joint select committees, including the Public Administration and Appropriations and the Internal and External committees, as well as the joint select committees on the Anti-Gang bill and the review of INDECOM continuing, with a number of issues being referred to various committees for resolution recently.

One of the chief reasons for the bottleneck has been the slow process of drafting, tabling and processing the large number of bills linked to the IMF agreement. In its sudden haste to meet these deadlines, the Government has refused to send these bills to a joint select committee, as was the case with the Omnibus Bill, because of the chance of lengthy delays causing it to miss its deadlines.

An example of the delays is the case of the Security Interests in Property Act, which should have been tabled from August, to facilitate the establishment and operation of a Central Collateral Registry by the end of this month. However, the House has not yet received a report from the special select committee chaired by the minister of industry, investment and commerce, Anthony Hylton.

Indications are that the rest of the current parliamentary year, up to March 2014, is going to be extremely busy for both Houses and their select and joint select committees, an overburdened Gordon House staff and Hansard, not to mention the poor facilities for the Press and visitors.

It is interesting that the Government now seems willing to go ahead with the three CCJ bills, for which notice of second reading was given as far back as April this year.

There is likely to be some speculation as to whether the decision coincides with the developments on the Opposition benches of the Senate, or was influenced by the Shanique Myrie ruling by the CCJ, or even a fear that the lustre of the Myrie decision may be peeling and giving way to the deeper fact that the Court’s decisions may not turn out to be as effective as they should. However, whatever happens, it will be interesting to see how things kick off next Tuesday.

The CCJ bills to be debated are: an Act to Amend the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, which seeks to repeal provisions for appeals to the Privy Council, and exclude any appeals to the Privy Council instituted prior to implementation of the CCJ; an Act to Amend the Constitution of Jamaica, to amend Section 110 of the Constitution to repeal provisions relating to appeals to the Privy Council and replace them with provisions establishing the CCJ as Jamaica’s final court; and an Act to make provisions for the implementation of the agreement establishing the CCJ as both a court of original jurisdiction, to determine cases involving the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and international treaties, as well as a superior court of record with appellate jurisdiction.

Following the debates on the bills in the Lower House, there is a three-month period before a vote can be taken. In the meantime, the Opposition has been insisting on a referendum to determine Jamaica’s full accession to the CCJ.

Lack of interest in Pryce’s motion

Government back-bencher Raymond Pryce had the very unflattering distinction of joining those parliamentarians who have brought resolutions to Parliament with no input into the debate from any other member on either side of the House.

Pryce’s motion is seeking to have the name of the annual Throne Speech, delivered by the governor general at the start of the parliamentary year, changed to ‘The People’s Speech’.

The member is contending that this would be a “timely and lasting acknowledgement of the priorities, projects, policies and programmes designed by the Government… to ensure the happiness and well-being of the people who elected the Government in the first place”.

Pryce also wants it to be understood that this is a “deliberate move towards the attainment of our sovereignty, and in keeping with the purpose of this Parliament and the Government of Jamaica first and foremost”.

It is interesting that in May 2013, Paulwell suggested that the 2012/13 Throne Speech could be the last time the traditional event would be so named. His remarks followed Pryce’s tabling of the motion in the House during that session.

Pryce opened debate on the motion in January this year, showing his disapproval for the origins of the event and its relevance to Jamaicans, but there was an obvious lack of interest from his colleagues in the House, which left it stranded on the Order Paper in 2012/13. It was re-tabled this year without any change in that attitude since April.

The debate eventually ended on Tuesday, with Pryce closing with an amendment that it will be sent to a relevant select committee which, hopefully, might just be able to generate some interest in the subject.

This week in Parliament

* The Internal and External Affairs Committee, chaired by Opposition MP Derrick Smith, meets on Tuesday at 10:00 am, followed by the sitting of the House of Representatives at 2:00 pm.

* The Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), chaired by Opposition MP Edmund Bartlett, meets at 10:00 am on Wednesday.

* The Senate meets on Friday at 10:00 am.

* Other meetings of Parliament or its committees may be added during the week.