6.5 In June 1991, author's counsel informed the Committee that the Supreme
(Constitutional) Court had rendered its judgement in the cases of Earl Pratt
and Ivan Morgan, on whose behalf constitutional motions had been filed earlier
in 1991. a/ In the light of this judgement and in order better to appreciate
whether recourse to the Supreme (Constitutional) Court was a remedy which the
author had to exhaust for purposes of the Optional Protocol, the Committee
adopted a second interlocutory decision during its forty-second session, on
24 July 1991. In this decision, the State party was requested to provide
detailed information on the availability of legal aid or free legal
representation for the purpose of constitutional motions, as well as examples
of such cases in which legal aid might have been granted or free legal
representation might have been procured by applicants. The State party did
not forward this information within the deadline set by the Committee, that
is, 26 September 1991. By submission of 10 October 1991 concerning another
case, the State party replied that no provision for legal aid in respect of
constitutional motions exists under Jamaican law and that the Covenant does
not oblige the State party to provide legal aid for this purpose.
6.6 In both of the above interlocutory decisions, as well as by note vexbale
dated 18 April 1990 addressed to it by the Committee's secretariat, the State
party was requested to also provide information and observations in respect of
the substance of the author's allegations. In its interlocutory decision of
24 July 1991, the Committee added that, should no comments be forthcoming from
the State party on the merits of the author's allegations, it might decide to
give due consideration to these allegations.
6.7 In spite of the Committee's repeated requests and reminders, the State
party did not provide detailed information and observations in respect of the
substance of the author's allegations. In this respect/ it merely observed,
by submission of 4 September 1990, that the facts as submitted by Mr. Collins
seek to raise issues of facts and evidence in the case which the Committee has
no competence to evaluate, adducing in support of its contention a decision
adopted by the Human Rights Committee in November 1989. b_/
Post-admissibility proceedings and examination of merits
7.1 In the light of the above, the Committee decides to proceed with its
consideration of the communication. The Committee has taken note of the State
party's position, formulated after the decision on admissibility, and takes
the opportunity to expand upon its admissibility findings.
7.2 The Committee has considered the State party's argument that the fact
that the power of tfce Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to grant leave
to appeal, pursuant to section 110, paragraph 3, of the Jamaican Constitution,
is limited, does not absolve an applicant from availing himself of this
remedy.
7.3 The Committee appreciates that the discretionary element in the Judicial
Committee's power to grant special leave to appeal pursuant to section 110,
paragraph 3, does not in itself relieve the author of a communication under
the Optional Protocol of his obligation to pursue this remedy. However, for
the reasons set out below, the Committee believes that the present case does
not fall within the competence of the Judicial Committee, as also contended by
leading counsel in the case.
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