Jamaica To Amend Mutual Assistance Treaty
The Jamaican Government has taken steps to free itself to respond to requests for legal assistance from the British Overseas Territories, the Jamaica Observer reports.
In March the Jamaican Director of Public Prosecutions said that it was unable to grant a request it had received from the authorities of one of the British Overseas Territories in this region, which include Bermuda, Cayman, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caiços Islands, Monserrat, and Anguilla.
The DPP said it couldn’t respond because this unnamed British Overseas Territory had not been brought within the ambit of Jamaica’s Mutual Assistance Criminal Matters.
According to that office: “Failure to bring this and other British Overseas Territories in the region under the Act was adversely affecting Jamaica’s co-operation arrangements in criminal matters with the law enforcement authorities of those countries, as many requests for legal assistance had been coming to Jamaica from those countries and Jamaica was not able to respond favourably.”
Consequently, Jamaican Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding sought the approval of the Senate for an Order amending the Principal Act.
“The public interest is strongly in favour of bringing these territories under the Act as it will greatly enhance the cross-border fight against crime and corruption. We are therefore committed to going ahead with bringing these British Overseas Territories under the ambit of the Act,” the Jamaican Justice Minister said.
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