The following appeared in the Gleaner on October 19, 2006.
The difficulty faced by Easton Grant in obtaining a Visa to visit England to represent himself before the Privy Council may be used as an argument FOR the adoption of the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The Privy Council Judgment was delivered on the 7th December 2006 and may be found here.
published: Thursday October 19, 2006
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, A.J. Nicholson, has intervened in the case involving Easton Grant, a Jamaican man, who is attempting to represent himself before the London-based Privy Council, but has been refused a visa to enter England.
Mr. Nicholson yesterday wrote to the British High Commissioner Jeremy Creswell, seeking a reversal of the decision.
Mr. Grant, a former teacher at the Montego Bay Community College in St. James, is seeking to have his termination of employment deemed illegal. He has so far been unsuccessful, having exhausted the local courts and has been granted leave by the Court of Appeal to take his case to the London lawlords.
Turned down
His case hearing is set for October 30 and 31, but the English High Commission turned down his visa application saying he had not demonstrated that he will return to Jamaica.
In his letter to Mr. Creswell yesterday, Mr. Nicholson noted that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remains Jamaica's final court of appeal.
"This, I believe, clearly implies that litigants will have access to their final court without impediment, and should not be denied the right to pursue their appeals to the highest level.
To date, Mr. Grant has opted to argue his case without legal representation, as is his right: he should be permitted to continue to do so especially before our highest court," Mr. Nicholson said.
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