Submission 9

Sent: Friday, April 14, 2023
To: ConstitutionalReform

Subject: Barbados Constitution

Supremacy of the Constitution versus Supremacy of Parliament

Britain has no written constitution and a significant concept in that country is the Supremacy/Sovereignty of Parliament. This means largely that most laws passed by the House of Commons cannot be unconstitutional. However, it must be clear in Barbados that the Constitution is the supreme law and no laws should exist that supersedes the Constitution as interpreted by the courts.

The Savings Clause in effect places laws passed prior to Independence in a superior position to other concepts and provisions of the Constitution. This position is very unwise because it holds us hostage to the views and values parliaments of past times. Additionally, the intent of the Savings Clause was to serve as a bridging device, giving us time to update our laws. It was never intended to remain as a permanent albatross around our necks.

Thus, the Savings Clause should be abolished, rendering any old laws that are inconsistent with the constitution moot and of no effect.

Preamble

The Preamble to the Constitution should clearly recognize that its source of authority flows from the Citizens of Barbados and that our common humanity is the fundamental ingredient that brings us together in this enterprise of nationhood. Reference to unproved concepts such as a God or Creator are simply assumptions that adds nothing of real value to the conversation. Indeed, such references may lead to unfortunate outcomes, as are observable in fascist and theocratic regimes, such as in Hungary, Russia, Iran and even some “democratic” regimes such as India to deny fundamental rights to various groups of their citizens based on religion, sexuality, ethnicity, etc.

Bill of Rights

Our Bill of Rights must be squarely based on the concept that our rights flow from our humanity. Clearly, there should be no discrimination by the State or other citizens based on religious beliefs or observance, creed, gender, age, sexuality or sexual orientation, gender identification, ethnicity or racial characteristics, real or perceived disabilities. Etc. The wording should be as broad as possible to ensure there is no room for loopholes. Fundamental rights to life, liberty, equality before the law, freedom f expression, self-identity, etc. must never be subject to the will and whims of the majority, because such rights supersede narrow biased interests.

Election Finance Reform

This issue should be addressed in broad terms in the Constitution. It should not be left to the subsidiary laws, such as the Electoral Act. Barbados is a very small state, and the impact of private finance on election does a lot of harm and gives rich individuals and businesses undue influence of election outcomes and government policy and access to public contracts. The principle to be upheld should be that elections should be financed from the public purse.

A case within recent times where one government set out a policy on multi-level markups on LPG was overturned by the next administration within weeks of the change of government to the detriment of the public raises suspicions that we were victims of an “idiot tax’.

Fixed Dates for Elections

The date for General Elections should not be something held in the back pocket of the Prime Minister, who then deploys it to the advantage of his/her party and the disadvantage of all others. Elections should have a fixed date or the term of office should be for a fixed period, unless the government loses a confidence motion in parliament. This would go a long way towards levelling the electoral playing field

Structure of Parliament

There have been many calls to move to a System of Proportional Representation to determine parliamentary membership and thus which party or parties would form the government of the day. I would caution that most proportional representation systems of government become quite unstable. Just look at Italy or Israel for examples. I appreciate that the first-past-the-post system is not the most democratic outcome, but the political stability it offers is an advantage.

Perhaps we could introduce some form of proportional representation to the Senate. The President could continue to appoint 7 senators representing defined interest. I believe these interest should be more clearly defined (the major religion (Christianity), other religious minorities, specific vulnerable groups usually targeted for discrimination, etc).

The remaining members (the political appointees) could be allocated on the basis of proportional representation at the most recent General Election. I propose 27 senators in total, so that 7 would be appointed by the President and 20 would be political appointees. Any party that receives 5% of the vote would be entitled to one senate seat. This would not be very costly, since the stipend paid to senators is relatively low.

Term Limits for the Prime Minister

I am wary of arbitrarily removing a productive, successful and well supported Prime Minister from office simply because he/she would have served a fixed number of terms. With other controls in place, it should be possible to avoid this eventuality. However, if it comes to that, the maximum number of terms should be set at no less than three. The individual could demit power if they wish and obviously could also lose an election or confidence motion in parliament.

Presidential Term Limits and Length of the Presidential Term

Unlike the Prime Minister, the role of the President is more ceremonial and less executive in nature, so there is not much of an issue with term limits. Two terms of six years should be good enough. I believe that the current term of four years is too short.

Local Government

There is a need to broaden and deepen the democratic participation of citizens in their own governance. A structure based on local community/constituency councils should be put in place, with elections that are scheduled differently from General Elections. The recommendations of the Thorne Commission are a step in the right direction.