Attorney renews call for repeal of Towns and Communities Act

 

There is a renewed call for the Towns and Communities Act, which dates back to 1843 to be repealed due to its lack of relevance in a modern society. 

 

King's Counsel Peter Champagnie is contending that the law is outdated, in particular, Section 9(C) of the Act, which makes it an offence to use profane, indecent and obscene language in public. 

 

The penalty is a fine of up to $1,500 or imprisonment of up to 30 days. 

 

Several people, including popular entertainers, have been charged for the offence - the latest being reggae singer Lila Ike. The singer, whose given name is Alicia Gray, and co-accused Chanel Moore are charged with indecent language, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in relation to a traffic stop along the Mandela Highway in St. Catherine in July. 

 

Their case was mentioned in the St. Catherine Parish Court on Tuesday, and bail extended to November 17.  

 

Speaking Friday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica, Mr. Champagnie said it was a disgrace that the offence was still on the law books. 

 

"In my view, they should repeal that law. The fact of the matter is that you have legislators, on both sides of the aisle, who have in the past used indecent language and there have been no charges. And when you compare that to an entertainer on stage or someone else, you know, using that kind of language, they are charged. I don't know if you remember the case of the pregnant lady that was shot and killed by a police, and there was a trial of the police, you know; it created a lot of outrage and so on. It all started from an element of the use of indecent language. So we need to do away with it," he argued.

 

The senior defence attorney is further calling for an active review of laws in Jamaica. 

 

"I am suggesting that there should be an offence for disorderly conduct, but not the usage of these kinds of languages. We need to bear in mind that the legislation that speaks about disorderly about indecent language also speaks about you dusting out a mat in public, that you can be charged for that. It also speaks about dancing in public and jumping up and down. So the question is, what about Jonkonnu dance and all of those things? That is why I'm insisting that we really need to look at some of these laws. It's actually a greater issue," he complained.

 

The Legal Reform Department in the Ministry of Justice is responsible for reviewing Jamaica's laws to ensure they stand up to date with the country's changing needs and for helping to put the government's law reform plans into action.