Two statements by Delroy Chuck in Parliament last week are in need of clarification, and perhaps, with respect to the second, a correction of the record.

In his contribution to the sector debates, Mr Chuck, the legal and constitutional affairs minister, addressed the old debate over whether Jamaica should leave the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), and if it does, what should be the island’s final court. He expressed a preference for a domestic, or Jamaican final court.

What is not absolutely certain is on whose behalf Mr Chuck spoke, also it is presumed that when ministers speak in these debates, they carry the imprimatur of their official positions and the weight of the collective responsibility of the Cabinet, although they also tend to veer constituency issues.  In other words, is Mr Chuck’s statement about a Jamaican final court, having been delivered in Parliament, now formal government policy?