Public Law Syllabus: Office of the Public Defender

Established in 1978, the Office of the Parlimentary Ombudsman was created to investigate and remedy complaints made by members of the public, of bad administration by the Jamaican Government, or its agencies or departments, while carrying out its function.

The Public Defender Act was passed in Jamaica in 1999, coming into effect April 16, 2000, repealing the Ombudsman Act and replacing the Office of the Parlimentary Ombudsman with the Office of the Public Defender with additional jurisdiction to investigate circumstances where it is alleged that a person's Constitutional rights have been violated.

There is a wealth of information about the role and duties of the Public Defender at the website for the Office of the Public Defender.

Public Law Syllabus: The Public Service Commission

1. Part 1 of Chapter 9 of the Jamaican Constitution governs the Public Service Commission.

Section 125 deals with the power to make appointments to public offices and to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in any such offices. This power rests in the Governor­ General acting on the advice of the Public Service Commission.

Section 125 (3) provides that before the Governor General can act on the advice of the Public Service Commission to discipline or remove any public officer, the officer must be informed of the advice. The officer has the option of applying for his case to be referred to the Privy Council. If the public officer makes the application for his case to go to the Privy Council, the Governor General will have to refer the case to the Privy Council and will not be able to act on the advice of the Public Service Commission to discipline or remove the officer. The Governor General, however, may, if the Public Service Commission so advises, suspend the public officer from the exercise of his office pending the determination of the case before the Privy Council.

Section 125 (4) states that where a reference is made to the Privy Council under the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, the Privy Council shall consider the case and shall advise the Governor­ General what action should be taken in respect of the officer, and the Governor­General shall then act in accordance with such advice.

2. The Staff Orders for the Public Service (2004) :

Chapter 4 sets out the Code of acceptable conduct of public officers. Conduct covered under Chapter 4 includes :

• Dress code
• Substance abuse
• Standard of behaviour & Service standards
• Political Activity
• Absence from duty
• Conduct which is a conflict of interest
• The acceptance of gifts
• Engagement in Private Work
• Confidentiality

Chapter 10 deals with rules governing disciplinary procedure.

For an explanation of the different Services Commissions, the Jamaica Information Service has prepared an article entitled "Office of the Services Commissions". The article can be viewed here.

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UPDATED - MAY 17, 2007

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Pay special attention to CHAPTER 10 of the Staff Orders. This Chapter deals with the discipline of Public Servants.

Here also is an interesting report entitled "Public Administration in Jamaica". It explains the legal structure (Executive, Legislative, Judiciary), the Public Service, Ombudsman etc.