Jamaica’s Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn will vacate workplace instantly after a courtroom in Jamaica dominated that the second extension of the DPP’s tenure in workplace was unconstitutional.
The ruling, introduced Friday morning on the Supreme Courtroom in downtown Kingston, comes after the federal government made an modification to the structure final yr, which raised the retirement age for the DPP from 60 to 65.
The extension, which adopted a earlier three-year extension in 2020 when Llewellyn turned 60, was challenged in a lawsuit by the Opposition Folks’s Nationwide Occasion (PNP).
The claimants, Member of Parliament Phillip Paulwell and Senator Peter Bunting, sought a declaration that Llewellyn mustn’t have remained in workplace past September 2023 when the 2020 extension ended.
Within the ruling, the courtroom discovered that the federal government acted unlawfully in granting the DPP the second extension of her tenure, however dominated that the rise within the retirement age is legitimate.
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Because of the ruling, the DPP should vacate her workplace as we speak, in keeping with the opposition’s lawyer King’s Counsel Michael Hylton.
Hylton expressed satisfaction with the ruling, emphasizing that the case was about upholding the rule of legislation and making certain equal software of legal guidelines for all people, moderately than concentrating on Llewellyn personally.
“The case will not be about Ms Llewellyn, it’s not about how she did her duties, it’s not even actually concerning the extension. The case is concerning the rule of legislation, about establishing a precept that the identical legal guidelines apply to all people, and that the structure must be revered,” Hylton advised journalists.
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In response, Paulwell stated if the Authorities had revered the Opposition, “we wouldn’t have this unlucky state of affairs the place a public servant is being embarrassed.”
“This matter might have been handled by a dialog between the prime minister and the chief of Opposition which is what the structure requires,” he stated. “I consider the judgment was a great one.”
In March 2008, Llewellyn was appointed director of public prosecutions – the primary lady to carry the place. Not like earlier DPPs, who had been appointed merely on the advice of the prime minister, she needed to apply via a aggressive choice course of administered by the Public Service Fee.
Notable instances the ODPP has been concerned with throughout her tenure embody the murder trial of Vybz Kartel, the extradition of Christopher Coke, and bribery prices in opposition to Trafigura Beheer.
