Caribbean Justice, a group working towards the abolition...

Caribbean Justice, a group working towards the abolition of the death penalty, said plans by the government to amend the Constitution, in order to circumvent hangings, would be "a serious breach of the rule of law". In a statement, the group said its opinion was shared by former Trinidad and Tobago Attorney-General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who in a 1999 address to the 12th Commonwealth Law Conference said that even if governments disagreed with the Privy Council's rulings regarding capital punishment, "they have an obligation whilst it remains the final court of appeal from their countries to obey and carry out its orders."
"The JCPC (Judicial Committee of the Privy Council) has not tried to abolish capital punishment. It does not have the power to do so. It has simply set internationally recognized standards for its application where none previously existed. It is extremely worrying that the prime minister apparently believes such minimum standards, including those designed to avoid miscarriages of justice, are not necessary in Jamaica," Caribbean Justice said.