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. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson signed an agreement that would allow Jamaica to be part of the Caribbean Court of Justice, which is expected to be in operation by 2005.
"The abolition of this vestigial colonial institution will complete the process of attaining full sovereign status," Patterson said.
"For the first time in our history, the Jamaican litigant will have access to a final court of appeal that is affordable as our local court of appeal," he said.
The court could also help political leaders who see capital punishment as a deterrent to rising crime. Britain had long pressured its former colonies to abolish capital punishment and the London-based Privy Council, the final court of appeal for convicted killers in some Caribbean nations, had been seen as an impediment to executions.
Some capital punishment advocates believed a Caribbean court would expedite appeals and clear the way for more executions. Jamaican opposition political groups and human rights organizations wanted the government to hold a national referendum on the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The opposition Jamaica Labour Party, human rights groups and the Jamaica Bar Association boycotted the signing ceremony, which was attended by prime ministers Owen Arthur of Barbados and Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.