The judiciary of Jamaica has responded to questions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, about the actions of the presiding judge and the clerk of the parish court in managing a Trade Winds Citrus case.
In a statement on Friday, Jamaica's chief prosecutor suggested that Trade Winds Citrus ought to have pleaded guilty in its high-profile environmental breach case, which stemmed from a 2023 oil spill in the Rio Cobre. The DPP suggested the case was wrongfully disposed of last year.
In response Monday afternoon, the judiciary said it is a well-established principle of law that in Jamaica's justice system, prosecutions are initiated either by the sovereign via the office of the DPP or by a private party through the granting of a fiat. It said judges do not initiate prosecutions except in limited circumstances such as contempt committed in their presence, in which case the judge acts in a dual capacity. Outside of such instances judges are neither investigators nor prosecutors.
The judiciary pointed out that a trial judge is under no legal duty to question or override a prosecutor's decision not to proceed with a criminal matter. The decision, it said, lies squarely within the remit of the prosecuting authority.
Further, the judiciary added that there is no legal or factual basis to support the suggestion that the judge should have interrogated the matter or facilitated consultation with the office of the DPP.
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