Privy Council hearing on Jamaica’s enslavement petition provisionally set for March 2027

October 15, 2026

A preliminary date has been set for the hearing of the petition on behalf of the people of Jamaica, which was referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council by His Majesty King Charles the Third.

In an update today, Minister of Culture Olivia Grange said the hearing has been provisionally set for the second week of March next year.

Referring to information from the Registrar of the Privy Council, Ms. Grange said the respondent to the petition had been given a deadline of November 20, 2026 to file its case.

The respondent to the petition is the representative of the U.K. Government.

On September 7, 2026, Jamaica filed a petition to His Majesty King Charles the Third asking him to refer certain points of real importance about enslavement to the Privy Council for its determination.

Jamaica’s petition is requesting the Privy Council to determine whether the capture, transport and enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was ever legal under English law; whether it was a breach of international law and whether the U.K. owes the people of Jamaica a reparatory remedy.