MONTEGO BAY, St James — Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte has doubled down on the Government’s position that the severing of ties with the UK Privy Council will be done in the second phase of the constitutional reform now underway.

“The issue of the final court of appeal is an important issue. It is set for phase two of the work which is to commence immediately after we table the Bill to amend the deeply entrenched provisions,” she told journalists in Montego Bay on Thursday.

The minister was responding to requests for a reaction to Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s assertion that the People’s National Party (PNP) will not support a move away from the British monarchy without a simultaneous severing of ties from the Privy Council.

“Constitutional reform work is complex and it is lengthy. We can’t do it all at once, and it makes sense to proceed on the matters on which we have consensus,” said Malahoo Forte.

She argued that trying to solve both matters simultaneously could have the unwanted result of further delays to the process.

“I remember when Lloyd Barnett was appealing for the abolition of the monarchy and he said if we didn’t move fast, Charles would accede the throne — and here we are with King Charles III, king of Jamaica,” she said wryly.

“I understand the calls but we are taking the work in stages and we are making good progress… It’s not a smooth one but we are progressing,” she added.

Speaking at the PNP’s 85th Annual Conference at National Arena on Sunday, Golding questioned the logic of Jamaica becoming a republic while retaining the King’s Privy Council in London as Jamaica’s final court.

“That does not make sense to any progressive person,” he said.

Malahoo Forte on Thursday argued that the issue is a polarising one that needs extensive discussion.

“The truth is that the issue of which final court for Jamaica, and in particular for the Republic of Jamaica, is a matter on which views are divided,” she stated.

“We will have to have a full debate on the issue; we’ll have to ventilate all of the sub issues. The concerns about access to justice are real, the concerns about quality of justice are real, so I am looking forward to a full discussion on the issue of which final court for Jamaica,” she said.

This divide between both sides has implications for the Government’s efforts to move towards a republic. It requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the monarch to be removed as head of state, it being a deeply entrenched provision of the constitution. While the Andrew Holness-led Government has a super majority in the House, it will need the vote of one Opposition senator to be able to enact the change.