Jamaica files historic reparations petition to King Charles

Jamaica has formally taken its long-running campaign for slavery reparations into the legal arena, filing a petition asking King Charles III to seek legal guidance on Britain’s responsibility for slavery and its consequences.

Jamaica’s Culture Minister, Olivia Grange, led a delegation to London on Monday, September 7, where the petition was formally filed.

The Jamaican government says the move represents the first time a Commonwealth country has used this particular legal route in pursuit of reparatory justice.

The petition asks King Charles, in his capacity as Jamaica’s head of state, to refer three major questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jamaica’s highest court of appeal.

The questions are whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful under English law, whether it violated international law, and whether Britain has a legal obligation to provide a remedy for the harm caused by slavery.

Importantly, Jamaica says the petition does not itself contain a monetary demand. Grange said the government wants the legal questions answered first, after which Jamaica’s lawyers will determine its next steps. Jamaica has nevertheless previously estimated the value of its reparations claim at around $10 billion.

The Jamaican government is also pursuing the return of Jamaican and Caribbean cultural artefacts held in British institutions, with the delegation scheduled to engage the British Museum over repatriation.