Three weeks ago in this space, we advised our readers to “Heed Ms Valerie Neita-Robertson’s advice to stay with the UK Privy Council” and we gave what we considered compelling reasons why.

In our Monday, April 26 edition, the attorney spoke for herself in a delightful column titled ‘Concerns that affect my confidence in the CCJ’ that we again hasten to commend to all Jamaicans.

Mrs Neita-Robertson has turned the conversation about keeping the United Kingdom Privy Council as our final appeal court, and not the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) — at least not yet — into an erudite discussion.

It took us a minute but we now understand why in March 2020, the then Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips spoke so glowingly about the lawyer, when he said of her:

“With a reputation for tirelessness in the defence of her clients, she shields them with an uncompromising vigilance, ensuring that the standard of fairness promised by our constitution is delivered. She possesses consummate trial skills and exceptional court craft. Her fearlessness as an advocate is legendary and is applied irrespective of the identity of the client.”

We believe that in that column Mrs Neita-Robertson is putting her 42 years of exceptional legal service on the line to help Jamaicans understand the gravity of the situation as regards giving up the Privy Council, while our justice system continues to limp along.

We have found common cause with her in her contention that in the scramble “to garner notoriety and political points we must not lose sight of the more important issue: that is, the delivery of justice to each and every Jamaican, regardless of who they are”.

She writes: “Those of us who support the retention of the Privy Council are not anti-Jamaican or anti-black; but justice does not wear the colours of race, gender, or class. Justice is universal and not territorial.

“…The concerns I have on this issue revolve around justice and the delivery of justice to all Jamaican citizens. As a proud black woman and a nationalist, I am aware of all the trappings of slavery and colonialism, but those are separate issues.

“We, as a people, need to conduct a careful analysis of the cold, hard facts on the issue as justice wears no colour, nationality, race, or gender and it is time we stop short-changing our people for tribal political advancement.”

She comprehensively demolished the arguments offered by those who want the UK Privy Council to go and cautions: “We must be careful that, as Jamaica moves towards the abolition of the Privy Council, this is based on the trust and confidence we have in the CCJ to deliver justice and not upon any benefit or advantage to any political position or to advancing a particular Government for political reasons.

“We need to be confident that our political disputes are not going to be adjudicated within our region by people who are influenced by the cultural peculiarities and social and class biases…

“We, as a country and a region, have not been successful in cauterising classism, social biases, etc, and we cannot deny our reluctance to offend politicians who hold the reins of government. Too often there is an unwillingness to strike down the conduct of those who hold high offices and wield political power,” the attorney argues.

We wholeheartedly agree. Go and read her.