Jamaica is ready to take a big authorized step in its long-standing pursuit of reparations for the enslavement of its African ancestors. The federal government will petition King Charles III, Jamaica’s de facto head of state, to refer three key questions regarding reparations to the Privy Council for recommendation.
Minister of Tradition, Gender, Leisure and Sport, Olivia Grange, introduced the transfer Tuesday throughout her contribution to the 2025/26 Sectoral Debate within the Home of Representatives.
“We’re petitioning King Charles III. We’re taking our demand for reparations from the UK for the enslavement of our African ancestors into one other section,” Grange acknowledged. “We might be submitting a petition… to consult with the Privy Council a set of questions that we wish answered inside his present place as head of state of Jamaica.”
The three questions outlined within the petition are:
- Whether or not the compelled transport of African individuals from their homelands to Jamaica and their subsequent enslavement till 1833 had been lawful, provided that such unauthorized elimination and enslavement had been opposite to elementary ideas of widespread regulation, and whether or not any native laws authorizing slavery was void as repugnant to English regulation.
- Whether or not the compelled transport and subsequent enslavement of individuals of African descent as much as 1838 constituted crimes towards humanity beneath worldwide regulation, for which the UK bears accountability.
- Whether or not, given these alleged illegalities, the UK is beneath an obligation to supply a treatment to the Jamaican individuals for the forcible transport and enslavement of African individuals in Jamaica beneath British rule as much as 1838, and for the persevering with penalties of those acts.
Minister Grange defined that the petition requests King Charles III to hunt the Privy Council’s authorized recommendation on these questions beneath his position as Jamaica’s head of state. She emphasised that this can be a authorized method which enhances, slightly than conflicts with, the continued political dialogue on reparations.
“This can be a authorized method which doesn’t in any approach battle with the political method as posited by others by negotiation. So, Jamaica intends to put these three questions earlier than the Privy Council in accordance with Part 4 of the Judicial Committee Act of 1833, which supplies the monarch discretionary powers to refer issues of constitutional significance to the Privy Council for recommendation in the event that they can’t be heard in native courts,” Grange mentioned.
She added that the federal government has consulted extensively with authorized specialists and that the petition is now with the Legal professional Normal of Jamaica for formal submitting on behalf of the Jamaican individuals.
Minister Grange additionally famous the urgency of the petition, stating it have to be submitted earlier than Jamaica completes its transition to a republic, a transfer that will change its relationship with the British monarchy and the Privy Council.
This authorized motion represents a brand new chapter in Jamaica’s quest for reparations, signaling the federal government’s dedication to pursuing justice by a number of avenues earlier than constitutional adjustments take impact.
