Weekly Alert: August 25-29, 2008

The Companies Office of Jamaica Mobile Team will be in Montego Bay at the Inland Revenue Office 18b Howard Cooke Boulevard on Wednesday August 27 and Thursday August 28. The sessions start at 10:00am. Call 908-4419-24 for details.

Public Forum and Panel Discussion:

Jamaicans for Justice is hosting a public forum and panel discussion on the Government’s proposed Whistleblower legislation.



Where: Dome Room, Montego Bay Civic Centre, Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay

When : Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.

For more information contact Jamaicans for Justice at 940-7449.

Download the Green Paper on the Whistleblower Legislation here.




- Discounted registration has been extended to September 10, 2008. For registration details click here.

-Business Programme Update:

Key note speaker: The Right Hon. Lord Hoffmann

Guest Speakers:
-The Honourable Orette Bruce Golding, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica
-The Hon. David Thompson, Prime Minister of Barbados

For an updated programme for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association 25th Anniversary Conference click here.




Subscription fees for Cornwall Bar Association Membership for the year 2008-2009 are now due.

Unfortunately we do not have the resources at this time to send out individual reminder letters.

If you have not already done so, we ask that you please let us have your cheque in the sum of $3,000 as soon as possible so that we can continue to serve you effectively.Your cheques should be made payable to The Cornwall Bar Association and sent to The Law Library, R.M. Court, Montego Bay.

Of Interest :

- Trinidad to amend legislation to deal with the Death Penalty following Privy Council Ruling that persons convicted and sentenced to death before June 2005 should have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. Read the story here.

- Hugh Anthony Rawlins, a national of St Kitts and Nevis, was on Wednesday August 13, 2008 confirmed as the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. For details click here.

Weekly Alert: August 18-22, 2008

Public Forum and Panel Discussion: Jamaicans for Justice is hosting a public forum and panel discussion on the Government’s proposed whistleblower legislation.

Where: Dome Room, Montego Bay Civic Centre, Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay

When : Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.

Refreshments will be available.
For more information contact Jamaicans for Justice at 940-7449

Download the Green Paper on the Whistleblower Legislation here.




Business Programme Update : Key note speaker at the Conference will be The Right Honourable Lord Hoffmann : "The Universality of Human Rights and the Importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
For an updated programme for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association 25th Anniversary Conference click here.

Registration Extended : Registration for the Conference is still available. You will also now be able to register onsite at the Conference. For registration information click here.
Registration fees for Conference participants include: Participation in Sessions; Conference Printed Material; Opening Ceremony; Welcome reception; Gala Night Dinner; Closing ceremony; Refreshments Breaks; Lunches; Conference Bag; Entrance to the exhibition.
Fees for Accompanying Guests include:Opening Ceremony; Welcome Reception;Tours (TBA); Closing Ceremony and Refreshments Breaks.

Home Hosting & Reception - Friday October 17, 2008: The Local Planning Committee for the Conference is currently organizing a “Meet the People” program for the evening of Friday October 17. The Committee is inviting attorneys from the Cornwall Bar Association and their friends to participate in this night of Home Hosting and Reception of Conference guests.

“Hosting” can be anything from hosting a cocktail/dinner party for some of the guests, inviting some guests out for drinks, inviting some of the guests out on an excursion – in other words, anything that would give the Conference Guests a warm Jamaican welcome and enhance their experience in this corner of the island. You can host as little as 4 guests to as many as you wish. All CBA members are requested to participate in this Home Hosting and Reception programme and as such we ask that you please send your contact details (name, address, telephone number & number of guests you would like to host) by e-mail to Keri Johnson (kerij2@cwjamaica.com).

If you need further information on this programme, please contact Jeanne Robinson at 952-2104.

Subscription fees for Cornwall Bar Association membership for the year 2008-2009 are now due.

Unfortunately we do not have the resources at this time to send out individual reminder letters.

If you have not already done so, we ask that you please let us have your cheque in the sum of $3,000 as soon as possible so that we can continue to serve you effectively.Your cheques should be made payable to The Cornwall Bar Association and sent to The Law Library, R.M. Court, Montego Bay.

Of Interest: If you are on Facebook, you might want to check out this Group Page : Makings of a Military State, Search of Counsel's House- An Open letter to the President of the Jamaican Bar Association.

Click here for the related story carried in the Observer Newspaper.

The response issued by DCP Mark Shields may be found here.

Weekly Alert: August 11-15, 2008

The Ministry of Justice in collaboration with its agencies and departments, the United Nations development Agency (UNDP) and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will hold a Public Consultation Forum themed "Towards a Strategic Framework for Restorative Justice."

Two Consultations will be held in St. James as follows: -

1. Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at the Sam Sharpe Teachers College, Granville, St. James from 5:00pm-8:00pm;

2. Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at the St. John's Methodist Church, 2 Duke Street, Montego Bay from 5:00pm-8:00pm

"The Government of Jamaica has committed to the introduction of restorative practices in the delivery of Justice to citizens. In this regard, a National Policy on Restorative Justice is to be approved by Cabinet giving authority to a number of initiatives aimed at facilitating healing for victims and the wider communities and creating the opportunity for offenders to take responsibility for their actions.

Your participation in this session is therefore valued as it will provide a platform for national discourse around key elements that can inform this Policy."

All members of the Cornwall Bar Association have been invited. If you intend to attend this forum or would like more information, please contact Ms. Audrey Sewell at 938-0285 / 928-8687 / 928-4624 or by e-mail to restorejamaica@gmail.com.



Of Interest : If you are on Facebook, you might want to check out this Group Page : Makings of a Military State, Search of Counsel's House- An Open letter to the President of the Jamaican Bar Association.

The related story entitled "Police Search home of Bungle's Attorney" was published in today's Observer.

Discounted registration rates for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association 25th Anniversary Conference end on August 15. Click here for more information about the Conference and for details on how to register.

REMINDER: The Local Planning Committee for the Conference is currently organizing a “Meet the People” program during the time of the Conference. The Committee is inviting attorneys from the Cornwall Bar Association and their friends to host guests of the Conference during this time.

“Hosting” can be anything from hosting a cocktail/dinner party for some of the guests, inviting some guests out for drinks, inviting some of the guests out on an excursion – in other words, anything that would give the Conference Guests a warm Jamaican welcome and enhance their experience in this corner of the island.

All CBA members are requested to participate in this "Meet the People" programme and as such we ask that you please send your contact details (name, address, telephone number) by return e-mail to kerij2@cwjamaica.com.

If you need further information on this programme, please contact Jeanne Robinson at 952-2104.

Subscription fees for Cornwall Bar Association membership for the year 2008-2009 are now due. Unfortunately we do not have the resources at this time to send out individual reminder letters. If you have not already done so, we ask that you please let us have your cheque in the sum of $3,000 as soon as possible so that we can continue to serve you effectively.

Your cheques should be made payable to The Cornwall Bar Association and sent to The Law Library, R.M. Court, Montego Bay.

The Jamaican Government has identified the enactment of Whistleblower legislation as a matter of priority. Whistleblowing involves a person making a disclosure about an act of wrongdoing or procedural breach which occurs within an organization. The enactment of whistleblower legislation is usually one of the measures employed to combat corruption. Other legislative measures include the Access to Information Act, 2001 and Corruption (Prevention) Act, 2001, which currently exist in Jamaica.

Members are asked to download, review and comment on the Green Paper on the proposed Whistleblower Legislation. Comments should be emailed to the Secretary of the Jamaican Bar Association for collation and onward transmission to the Ministry of Justice.

Download the Green Paper on Whistleblower Legislation here.

Weekly Alert: August 4 - 8, 2008

As you all should know by now, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association will be staging its 25th Anniversary Conference right here in Montego Bay at the Ritz Carlton between the 16th and the 19th of October 2008.

The Local Planning Committee is currently organizing a “Meet the People” program during the time of the Conference. The Committee is therefore inviting attorneys from the Cornwall Bar Association and their friends to host guests of the Conference during this time. “Hosting” can be anything from hosting a cocktail/dinner party for some of the guests, inviting some guests out for drinks, inviting some of the guests out on an excursion – in other words, anything that would give the Conference Guests a warm Jamaican welcome and enhance their experience in this corner of the island.

All CBA members are requested to participate in this "Meet the People" programme and as such we ask that you please send your contact details (name, address, telephone number) by return e-mail to kerij2@cwjamaica.com.

If you need further information on this programme, please contact Jeanne Robinson at 952-2104.

Subscription fees for Cornwall Bar Association membership for the year 2008-2009 are now due. Unfortunately we do not have the resources at this time to send out individual reminder letters and so, if you have not already done so, we ask that you please let us have your cheque in the sum of $3,000 as soon as possible so that we can continue to serve you effectively.

Your cheques should be made payable to The Cornwall Bar Association and sent to The Law Library, R.M. Court, Montego Bay.

The response of the Jamaican Bar Association to the Government's proposed Crime Measures was recently published and may be found here.

Kay Ann Reuben advises that her office will be closed from August 7, 2008 to August 15, 2008.

Angela Inniss v. Attorney General of Saint Christopher and Nevis (Privy Council Appeal No 29 of 2007)