MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

The Justice of the Peace is a judicial public officer albeit, with limited powers.  In addition to the number of duties and functions within the community, the JP actually performs judicial functions serving in the Court of Petty Sessions as set out in the Justice of the Peace Jurisdiction Act (1850) from which their authority is derived.  

Various pieces of legislation, and the Proclamation Rules & Regulations (Dec. 2006) also clearly outline the various roles and functions of the Justice of the Peace: 

• Judicature (Resident Magistrates)  Act
• Jamaica Gazette Supplement Dec. 14, 2006 (JP Proclamation Rules)
• Justices of the Peace (Official Seals) Act Regulation 2004
• Bail Act (Regulations) 2001 (reference to JPs role in granting and refusing Bail prior to the matter being taken to court), Make Declaration 17c (Bail Act), Make orders under section 22 (Bail Act).
• Attestation of Facility Act (1944)
• Oaths Act
• Interpretation Act (Section 3 defines JPs).

 Any Jamaican citizen between the ages of 25 and 70, who is able to speak and write English, is eligible to become a Justice of the Peace (JP).  Additionally, any person wanting to become a JP is expected to:

• be a mature individual who commands the respect and confidence of his/her community members;
• holds a record of having given good service and leadership to his/her community (or the country) and should show the potential for further good service; and,
• be able to communicate and interact at all levels and with all types of individuals in his/her community.

Duties of a Justice of the Peace include:

• Execution of Documents:  Persons often seek help concerning wills, transfers, common law titles, and other kinds of legal documents including Oaths, Affidavits and Declarations.
• Summonses, Warrants: to compel persons to attend court; at other times, may issue a warrant for the search of premises believed to contain illegal goods or persons; may also issue a warrant for the arrest of any person who – on reasonable grounds – is believed to have committed a criminal offence.
• Licensing Authority under Spirit Licences Act: to consider and grant applications for licenses at Spirit Licence sessions.
• Bail: to consider applications for bail in respect of persons who have been arrested and are in police custody for minor offences that have not yet been taken before the court.
• Visits to Police Stations to ensure that the proper procedures are followed where arrested persons, who are in police custody, make statements under caution, as well as with respect to those persons who are placed in identification parades.
• Give Counsel and advice to citizens in the community:  to listen to and, where possible, help persons who experience various kinds of problems and seek the advice of a leader in the community.
• Caution Statements: Justices of the Peace are sometimes asked by the police to bear witness to written statements given under caution by an accused person in custody.  In cases where a person has received felonious injuries and is dying, a JP is required to witness the statement from such person before he or she dies for the purpose of using such document in a trial.
• Jury List: Under the Jury Act 1898, repealed by Act of 1980, a minimum of two Justices of the Peace sit with the Resident Magistrate at a Special Petty Sessions to provisionally settle the Jury List and later in the year to finally settle the list presented by the police. The purpose is to remove the names of persons who are no longer qualified by reason of age, incapacity etc. and to add to the list persons now qualified as well as to correct other errors on the list.
• Hire Purchase Act: Any Vendor may apply in the absence of the other party to two Justices of the Peace for an order to repossess goods sold on hire purchase agreement if the right to the vendor is endangered. 
• Riot Act: The Justice of the Peace reads the Riot Act to a rioting crowd in the time of crisis.

The Court of Petty Sessions, presided by Justices of the Peace, was conferred by a statute of 1826 to sessions of Justices held to supervise the lists of persons qualified to serve on juries.  The powers of the Court were later enlarged to deal with crimes of a petty nature, including minor offences or misdemeanours embracing allegations such as disorderly conduct.  The Court of Petty Sessions also hears and determines complaints brought by citizens and the police against other citizens where the cause of the complaint takes place in the parish in which the Court sits. 

From the pool of JPs, the Custos of each parish selects and places on Roster those Justices who will serve on the Courts of Petty Sessions.  This Roster is published in the Jamaica Gazette, indicating the date and place where each Justice of the Peace who is to serve on these court is to sit for the entire year.