7.4 In determining whether to grant leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee/ the Court of Appeal of Jamaica must generally ascertain, under section 110, paragraphs 1 (c) and 2 (a), of the Jamaican Constitution, whether the proceedings involve a question as to the interpretation of the Jamaican Constitution or a question of great general or public importance or otherwise such that it should be submitted to the Privy Council. Pursuant to the powers conferred upon it by section 110, paragraph 3, the Judicial Committee applies similar considerations. In granting special leave to appeal, the Judicial Committee is concerned with matters of public interest arising out of the interpretation of legal issues in a case, such as the rules governing identification procedures. There is no precedent to support the conclusion that the Judicial Committee would consider issues of alleged irregularities in the administration of justice, or that it would consider itself competent to inquire into the conduct of a criminal case. Such matters, however, are central to the author's complaint, which does not otherwise raise legal issues of general or public interest. In this context, the Committee notes that the evaluation of evidence and the summing up of relevant legal issues by the judge was neither arbitrary nor amounted to a denial of justice and that the judgement of the Court of Appeal clearly addressed the grounds of appeal. 7.5 In the particular circumstances of the case, therefore, the Committee finds that a petition for leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council would have no prospect of success; accordingly, it does not constitute an effective remedy within the meaning of the Optional Protocol. 7.6 Similar considerations apply to the author's possibility of obtaining the redress sought by applying for constitutional redress in the Supreme (Constitutional) Court. A remedy is not "available" within the meaning of the Optional Protocol where, as in the instant case, no legal aid is made available in respect of constitutional motions, and no lawyer is willing to represent the author for this purpose on a pro bono basis. The Committee further reiterates that in capital punishment cases, legal aid should not only be made available; it should also enable counsel to prepare his client's defence in circumstances that can ensure justice. £/ 7.7 For the reasons sat out above, the Committee finds that a petition for special leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and a constitutional motion in the Supreme (Constitutional) Court are not remedies that the author would have to exhaust for purposes of the Optional Protocol. It therefore concludes that there is no reason to reverse its decision on admissibility of 2 November 1988. 6.1 With respect to the alleged violations of the Covenant, four issues are before the Committee: (a) whether the conduct of the author's retrial by a judge with a previous involvement ixi the case violated the author's rights under article 14, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Covenant; (b) whether the alleged tampering with members of the jury by the investigating officer, and the alleged intimidation of witnesses by the same officer, violated the aforementioned provisions; (c) whether the failure of author's counsel in the retrial to call witnesses on his behalf violated article 14, paragraph 3 (e); and (d) whether the author's alleged ill-treatment on death row amounts to violations of articles 7 and 10. -227-