KINGSTON, Jamaica — Citizens rights organisation Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), in the wake of Wednesday’s ruling by Supreme Court Judge, Justice Bertram Morrison, that the detention of five men under the ongoing States of Emergency (SOE) is unconstitutional, says the country must continue to “speak out against these abuses”.

“In Jamaica, persons have the constitutional right to access our nation’s courts if they have been detained. This is a critical part of our democracy that prevents abuse of state power and is part of what distinguishes democracies from police states.

“Under the State of Emergencies, the government sought to suspend this right of persons within particular areas to access the Courts indefinitely. In defending this, they have argued that preventing persons from accessing Courts, and several other suspension of fundamental rights, are “necessary” for fighting crime. We have not seen any credible justification for this position,” JFJ stated in a release obtained by OBSERVER ONLINE.

“According to the government, instead of seeking justice through the courts, persons detained under the States of Emergency must have their detention reviewed by an ad hoc Tribunal that they set up.

“On July 22, 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that the detention of the men was unlawful and ordered that they be released, confirming that persons may still access the nation’s Courts to obtain their liberty when unlawfully detained — regardless of the existence of a State of Public Emergency.

“As a society, we should continue speaking out against these abuses. We should resist attempts to erode our fundamental protections as a free and democratic society,” the JFJ said.

Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn in an interview with the Observer’s sister station Edge Radio on Wednesday, when asked to comment on the ruling, declined to speak at length but had this to say:

“Here you are speaking of a recent event, apparently there is no written judgement, I am not au fait with the facts of the matter, all I can do is indicate that as any other public servant who operates in the administration of justice, all of us, whether you are a prosecutor, police officer, defence counsel, judge, all of us should have the greatest and highest regard for the rights that have been enshrined under the Constitution.”

In the meantime Leader of the Opposition and President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Dr Peter Phillips, in a statement issued to the media yesterday said the ruling is of great constitutional significance.

Justice Morrison, in his oral judgement, stated that: “a man’s freedom could not be arbitrarily taken away without a final determination by the court.”  He said further that the Emergency Powers Act (EPA), the Emergency Powers Regulation (EPR), and detention orders are in breach of the constitution. The judge also pointed out that in a free and democratic society, a man cannot be detained until the end of the state of emergency.

Dr Phillips said Justice Morrison’s ruling “represents a new phase in the maturing of Jamaica’s democracy and highlights the value of the principle of separation of powers”.

“While we await the written judgement to analyse the reasons, the ruling is consistent with the position of the PNP that any anti-crime strategy that involved an unduly prolonged wholesale infringement on the rights of Jamaicans cannot be an effective crime control strategy,” the Opposition leader said further.

He noted that this was an issue raised several times in the House of Representatives, as the party urged a collaborative approach. Now, he said, this ruling is likely to have far-reaching implications for the future of the SOEs.

Dr Phillips said the party awaits the reasons to be provided by the court early next week.

The ruling was handed down after attorneys for the men filed separate legal challenges.

Alicia Dunkley-Willis