Jamaica asks King Charles to refer legality of slave trade to Privy Council

Eve Irvine, the Jamaican Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, welcomed Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, at a recent briefing on the nation’s reparations initiative. Grange outlined the government’s strategy to move the debate over British slavery from political discretion to legal accountability, emphasizing that the capture, transportation and chattel enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was never lawful under English or international law.

The initiative seeks to compel King Charles III, in his capacity as King of Jamaica, to refer three specific questions to the Privy Council. These questions address the applicability of English law to the historical slave trade, the relevance of international law in the context of colonial exploitation, and Britain’s potential obligation to provide reparatory remedies. By pursuing this legal route, Jamaica aims to establish a formal basis for reparations and to clarify the legal responsibilities of the United Kingdom regarding the legacy of slavery.