Court of Appeal to begin examining decision on DPP’s tenure today

A Court of Appeal hearing to clarify issues that had arisen following the Constitutional Court’s decision in April that resulted in King’s Counsel (KC) Paula Llewellyn stepping aside as director of public prosecutions (DPP) will get under way today.

The hearing, which is scheduled for five days, will be presided over by a three-judge panel led by Justice Jennifer Straw and including justices Vivene Harris and Kissock Laing.

The Full Court, in April, ruled that the change in the Constitution in July last year - to raise the age of retirement for the DPP and the auditor general from 60 to 65 - was valid.

However, the court struck down an amendment that it said gave Llewellyn the power to elect to remain on the job.

It declared the provision “unconstitutional”.

Following the ruling, attorneys representing People’s National Party lawmakers, who had initiated the challenge, said the ruling meant that Llewellyn would have to leave office immediately.

However, other parties, including the Attorney General’s Chambers and Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck, were of the view that no such order had been made.

The attorney general consequently advised that after careful consideration and in the interest of the public, he would be appealing the ruling to have the issues resolved and determined by the Court of Appeal.

Shortly after, the Attorney General’s Chambers issued a brief statement advising that Llewellyn was stepping away from her duties.

It said that due to ambiguity and uncertainty from the court’s ruling, the DPP had advised that she was “unable to carry out the functions of her office at this time”.

But the release also sparked calls for further clarity on whether the DPP had resigned.

However, her lawyer, Douglas Leys, KC, advised then that she had not resigned, and further, that it “would not be advisable for her to resign her position until the Court of Appeal has finally determined the issues”.

Senior Deputy DPP Claudette Thompson was then appointed to act in the post of DPP.

A panel of judges comprising Justices Sonya Wint-Blair, Simone Wolfe-Reece, and Justice Tricia Hutchinson Shelly ruled that “the incumbent DPP has already reached the extended retirement age, [which] means that the application of Section 2(2) cannot lead to another extension by way of an election on the part of the incumbent DPP as this is unlawful”.

The DPP reached the age of retirement in 2020 but got a three-year extension, which ended in September 2023.

The judges further ruled that the only lawful way to extend Llewellyn’s current tenure is by agreement between the prime minister of Jamaica and the leader of the Opposition.

Opposition lawmakers Phillip Paulwell and Peter Bunting had initiated the challenge to the amendment to the Constitution while the attorney general was the respondent in the matter.

Michael Hylton, KC, represented the lawmen.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com