Research Question:
There are currently four states that have become republics in the English-Speaking Caribbean, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad. Of the four, only Guyana has an executive president who is directly elected by the electorate and the other three with presidents that are largely ceremonial. Guyana has also made substantive changes to its electoral systems.
According to Derek O'Brien, 'the year 2016....witnessed one of the most significant constitutional referendums to be held in the region since independence as voters in Grenada were asked to vote on seven separate Constitution (Amendment) Bills, which sought variously to: limit the number of terms of office a Prime Minister can serve; enhance the integrity of the electoral process; guarantee gender equality; and vest ultimate legal sovereignty in a regional appellate court, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC)'.
In 2021, Jamaica established a Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs that is tasked to lead the country towards republic status and broad constitutional reform. Some of the issues of concern in Jamaica and across the Caribbean is the removal of savings law clauses to remove death penalty, abortion restrictions, for example, from the books. Like Grenada, other jurisdictions are also seeking to make changes to the final court of appeal, term limits, election dates and overall electoral process.
In examining the above mentioned statement, provide critical analysis of the need for constitutional reform and proposed reform to two of the below critical areas:
- Constitutional monarchy
- Governance structure and relationships between branches of government
- Electoral process (proportional versus first part the post)
- Judiciary system (CCJ versus Privy Council)
- Executive powers (how Prime is elected, fixed term, fixed date)
- Governance accountability (entrenchment of key institutions, impeachment provisions, etc)
- Treatment of minority groups and human rights issues (death penalty, abortion, marriage, etc)
Based on your areas of reform, your project report should include the following:
An introduction highlighting the extent to which constitutional reform is needed
Based on the area of reform, what are the current challenges and issues why the specific reform is needed. Make specific reference to how the reforms proposed can enhance accountability and good governance in government.
Critical analysis of your proposed reform - three advantages and three disadvantages.