Jamaica has formally petitioned King Charles, requesting that he refer three specific questions regarding transatlantic chattel enslavement to the judicial committee of the privy council. The questions aim to determine if enslavement in Jamaica was ever lawful and if the UK has an obligation to provide a form of reparatory remedy.
The petition does not ask King Charles to answer these questions himself, but rather to use his authority as head of state to allow the case to be heard in British courts. This legal route, drawing on the Judicial Committee Act of 1833, is reportedly a rarely used process and the first time a Commonwealth state has pursued it for reparatory justice.
This action by Jamaica is part of a wider global campaign for reparatory justice. In March, the UN passed a motion recognising enslavement as "the gravest crime against humanity." Last week, the UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination (CERD) issued guidance stating countries were legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade.