The Parliament is to begin debating, this afternoon, whether to replace the London-based Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as Jamaica’s highest court.

The Houses of Parliament issued a statement yesterday, indicating that the debate to replace the British court will take place on three bills.

Those bills have been before the House since 2012.

A week ago, the Opposition Leader, Andrew Holness, warned that his members would not be supporting the move to replace the Privy Council.

He says the Privy Council is one of Jamaica’s greatest assets.

The Opposition is insisting that the issue should be put before Jamaicans in a referendum, but that suggestion has been rejected by the Government.

The bills will require two-thirds support in both Houses of Parliament.

The Government has a solid two-thirds membership in the House of Representatives, but would need to swing at least one opposition member to ensure passage in the Senate.

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