A Jamaican delegation led by Olivia Grange has arrived in London to seek legal advice on slavery and Britain’s obligation to provide restitution. Its petition to King Charles III on Monday asks for questions to be referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Grange says inherited education and health systems still disadvantage Jamaica; Buckingham Palace says the king will not decide the substance of the claim.
Jamaica’s culture minister Olivia Grange and members of its National Council on Reparations arrived in London over the weekend for a slavery reparations petition. On Monday, the delegation will ask King Charles III to refer legal questions about slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jamaica’s highest court of appeal. The delegation says this is the first time a Commonwealth state has used this route to pursue reparatory justice.[1], [2]
The petition asks whether the forced transport and enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful, whether it constituted a crime against humanity and whether Britain owes a remedy for the harm. The Judicial Committee Act of 1833 allows the monarch to refer legal matters to the court for an advisory opinion. Buckingham Palace said Charles has a constitutional role in the petition but no part in deciding the substance of the claim.[1], [2]
British merchants forcibly transported between 600,000 and 1 million Africans to Jamaica from the 17th century to the early 19th century. Jamaica’s government estimates that the country is owed about 10 billion dollars in reparations. Grange said inherited education and health systems continue to disadvantage the country. A palace spokesperson stressed Charles’s commitment to addressing historical wrongs.[1], [2]
