Communication
No. 286/1988
Submitted by: L. S. [name deleted]
Alleged victim:
The author
State party concerned:
Jamaica
Date of communication: 8 February 1988 (date of initial letter)
The Human Rights
Committee, established under article 28 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights,
Meeting on 26 July
1988,
Adopts the following:
Decision on admissibility
1. The author of the communication (initial letter dated 8 February 1988,
further letter dated 1 June 1988) is L. S., a 24-year-old Jamaican citizen
currently awaiting execution at St. Catherine District Prison, Jamaica.
2.1 The author
does not state when he was convicted and sentenced to death. He states that
the Jamaica Court of Appeal has reserved its judgement, and that his case
is being sent to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. 2.2 L. S.
affirms that he is accused of having murdered a man whose body was never
recovered and whom he claims he did not know. According to him, the police
testified in court that there was proof that a fight had taken place between
the author and the victim; the sole witness against him was the missing
man's uncle, who allegedly had had serious but unspecified differences with
the author.
2.3 According to the author, the jury at first returned a verdict of not
guilty. The Crown's counsel, however, told it to return to the verdict room
and consider a guilty verdict. The judge, in turn, told the jury that, if
it believed the author's account, it would have to acquit him. The jury,
after reconsideration, returned a verdict of guilty.
3. Upon registering the communication on 21 March 1988, the Working Group
of the Human Rights Committee instructed the Secretariat to seek further
information from the author about a number of issues pertaining to his communication,
in particular about the question of exhaustion of domestic remedies.
4. By a letter
dated 1 June 1988, the author, in response, informed the Committee that
he was still waiting for the judgement of the Jamaica Court of Appeal. Meanwhile,
he stated that the Jamaica Council for Human Rights was preparing a petition
for leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on his
behalf , and a London-based lawyer had informed him that he would be willing
to assist him for that purpose.
5.1 Before considering
any claims contained in a communication, the Human Rights Committee must,
in accordance with rule 87 of its provisional rules of procedure, decide
whether or not it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.
5.2 The Committee has ascertained, as it is required to do under article
5, paragraph 2 (a), of the Optional Protocol, that the same matter is not
being examined under another procedure of international investigation or
settlement. 5.3 With respect to the requirement of exhaustion of domestic
remedies under article 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional Protocol, the
Committee has noted the author's letter, dated 1 June 1988, indicating that
he is still awaiting the judgement of the Jamaica Court of Appeal and that
a petition for leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
is being prepared on his behalf. It thus concludes that available remedies
have not been exhausted by the author. Article 5, paragraph 2 (b), however,
precludes the Committee from considering a communication prior to the exhaustion
of all available domestic remedies.
6. The Human Rights Committee therefore decides:
(a) That the communication is inadmissible under article 5, paragraph
2 (b), of the Optional Protocol;
(b) That, since this decision may be reviewed under rule 92, paragraph 2,
of the Committee's provisional rules of procedure upon receipt of a written
request by or on behalf of the author containing information to the effect
that the reasons for inadmissibility no longer apply, the State party shall
be requested, taking into account the spirit and purpose of rule 86 of the
Committee's provisional rules of procedure, not to carry out the death sentence
against the author, before he has had a reasonable time, after completing
the effective domestic remedies available to him, to request the Committee
to review the present decision;
(c) That this decision shall be transmitted to the State party and
to the author.