Jamaica
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- constitutional parliamentary democracy
- CONSTITUTION
- August 6, 1962
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English common law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Senate and House of Representatives
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court, judges appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister; Court of Appeal
RELIGIONS
majority Protestant
From the country
- JULY 6, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The mandatory death penalty for murder in Jamaica was...
The mandatory death penalty for murder in Jamaica was abolished, winning a reprieve for more than 60 prisoners on death row, in a historic judgment from nine judges sitting in London
- JUNE 11, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
A Senate debate on the Caribbean Court of Justice was...
A Senate debate on the Caribbean Court of Justice was postponed after Jamaica's main opposition party filed a court challenge seeking to block establishment of the regional appellate body, officials said
- JUNE 10, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Charles Learmond, the member of the Jamaican parliament...
Charles Learmond, the member of the Jamaican parliament for South West Clarendon, chastised his colleagues saying they were unwilling to take a firm stand on whether the government should hold a referendum on capital punishment
- JUNE 8, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The London-based Privy Council was expected to hand...
The London-based Privy Council was expected to hand down a ruling that would affect the imposition of the death penalty in several Caribbean countries, according to a statement issued by the Barbados government
- APRIL 11, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Murder is a capital crime, except for pregnant women, persons over 70 years of age and those who committed crimes when under eighteen years old.
Murder is a capital crime, except for pregnant women, persons over 70 years of age and those who committed crimes when under eighteen years old.
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners...
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica could win a reprieve if an unprecedented privy council hearing beginning in London ruled that the mandatory death penalty for murder was unconstitutional
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
(continues from above)The appeal was the culmination...
(continues from above)The appeal was the culmination of a strategy deployed over the last six years by English lawyers working free of charge on behalf of Caribbean death row inmates
- MARCH 22, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners...
It was reported that hundreds of death row prisoners in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica could win a reprieve if an unprecedented privy council hearing beginning in London ruled that the mandatory death penalty for murder was unconstitutional
- MARCH 8, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
The Jamaica government warned criminals that the authorities...
The Jamaica government warned criminals that the authorities would move swiftly against them, as law enforcement officials urged the Patterson administration to resume capital punishment
- FEBRUARY 23, 2004JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
"In Jamaica, which has the highest rate of police shootings...
"In Jamaica, which has the highest rate of police shootings per capita in the world, evidence repeatedly contradicts police claims that they were fired upon first and indicates instead a disturbing pattern of extrajudicial executions," Amnesty said in a r
- AUGUST 19, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
"The last polls show about 82% in favour of the death...
"The last polls show about 82% in favour of the death penalty, even though there is no more evidence here than anywhere else that it acts as a deterrent," said Nancy Anderson, a defence attorney and activist with the Independent Jamaica Council for Human
- JUNE 9, 2003JamaicaDEATH PENALTY
Jamaica moved a step closer to removing Britain's Privy...
Jamaica moved a step closer to removing Britain's Privy Council as its final appellate court and replacing it with a proposed new Caribbean appeals court