Bills will now be enacted in authority of Jamaica's Parliament

By Nakinskie Robinson    

 

In a step in the constitutional reform process, the government on Tuesday amended Section 61 of the Constitution.

 

Bills will no longer be given effect in the name of the British Monarch but rather the authority of the Parliament of Jamaica.

 

Section 61 of the Constitution speaks to the words of enactment which indicate the source of authority for the making of laws.

 

Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte, says the adjustment indicates the government's commitment to doing away with the monarchy. 

 

"Any reference to the sovereign is a reference to the sovereign for the time being, but that did not mean that we could change the actual words in the Constitution, but more importantly what we have done and what we are in the process of completing is to have every act of Parliament commencing with the words, where appropriate, 'Be it enacted by the Parliament of Jamaica, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Representatives,'" she explained. 

 

Minister Malahoo Forte was speaking during Wednesday's post Cabinet press briefing.

 

She said the move is an implementation of a recommendation by the Constitution Commission in its 1993 report.

 

The matter, she noted, was again brought to light following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.