The Jamaican Government on Friday wasted no time in declaring that it will be appealing the ruling of the Constitutional Court that its use of states of emergency (SOEs) between 2018 and 2023 was illegal.

The oral ruling, handed down on Friday morning by a panel of three judges, was in response to a claim filed by People’s National Party (PNP) General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, in 2023, challenging proclamations made by the governor general at the varying times declaring the SOEs and subsequent extensions.

Campbell, in the claim, argued among other things that the SOEs were not used for the intended purpose under Section 20 of the Constitution; and that the proclamations breached the separation of powers principle while maintaining that the executive had overstepped Parliament to extend the measures.

On Friday the Government, in acknowledging the Supreme Court ruling, said the Attorney General’s Chamber “is undertaking a thorough review of the legal and constitutional implications of this decision in preparation for its appeal”.

“As it was satisfied with the conduct of the Parliament, the Government, and the governor general in declaring these states of emergency, the Government will now give serious consideration to this judgment as we appeal the decision,” Attorney General Dr Derrick McKoy said in the statement.

“We will continue to support our security forces. The people of Jamaica are experiencing a historic reduction in crime thanks to effective crime-fighting strategies, historic investment in policing infrastructure, increases in the number of police officers, implementation of enhanced intelligence operations and SOEs,” the statement said.

“Jamaica recorded 132 fewer murders in the first quarter of 2025, representing the third-straight quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2024. Additionally, incidents of shootings, rapes, robberies, and break-ins have all declined consistently over the past six quarters, beginning in the third quarter of 2023,” the attorney general said further.

According to the Government, “the implementation of states of public emergency resulted in the reduction of murders and saved lives”.

“The Government and the people of Jamaica continue to view the level of murders in Jamaica — which at times would have been three times as high as the regional average — as a national emergency. The Government remains committed to the fight against crime and maintaining public safety while respecting the rule of law,” the release said further.

In the meantime, president of the Opposition PNP Mark Golding, in a statement issued to the media shortly after the decision, said the “landmark ruling by the Supreme Court is a resounding victory for the constitution, for the rule of law, and for the people of Jamaica”.

“The court has affirmed what the PNP has long argued: that the multiple and extended use of states of public emergency as a routine crime-fighting tool is a violation of the constitution’s extraordinary emergency powers,” he stated.

Said Golding, “The Government’s unprecedented declaration of 24 SOEs over the period 2018-2023 represented a sustained abuse of an extraordinary executive power under the constitution and a dangerous erosion of the rights and freedoms of the Jamaican people. The SOE, which is the constitution’s last-resort mechanism against crises that threaten to subvert the democratic order of the State, was unlawfully deployed by the Government as a tool of routine policing, often incorporating entire parishes and sometimes being renewed without parliamentary oversight.”

He said it is significant that recent statistics reveal a marked decline in the murder rate, which has been accomplished by targeted law enforcement measures, without recurring SOEs.

“Jamaica’s long-term security hinges on appropriate policing strategies, robust democratic institutions and community-led solutions, achievable without unconstitutional violations of fundamental rights and freedoms,” Golding said. “The court’s decision reinforces that no government is permitted to suspend freedoms under the guise of public safety without meeting the constitutional safeguards of necessity, proportionality and parliamentary accountability.”

“This win belongs to every Jamaican who values justice and constitutional order. The PNP brought this case to defend the constitutional rights and freedoms of the Jamaican people, and because we believe there are ways of successfully overcoming Jamaica’s problem of violent crime without violating the constitution,” he said further.