Integrity Commission Explains Gag Clauses Restricting Public Disclosure of Investigations

Jamaica's Integrity Commission (IC) has set out an explanation of what is widely referred to as the “Gag Clause,” pointing to two distinct provisions in the Integrity Commission Act (ICA) that limit what the anti-corruption body can share with the public.

The first provision is found in Section 53(3) of the ICA. It bars the Commission from disclosing details of its investigations to the public until the relevant investigative report has been tabled in Parliament.

The second restriction sits in Section 56(1) of the same Act. Under this section, employees of the Commission are required to handle statutory declarations, government contracts, prescribed licences, and any other matters before the Commission as secret and confidential information.

According to the Commission, anyone who contravenes these obligations commits a criminal offence. The penalty on conviction is a fine of up to $1 million or a custodial sentence of up to one year.

The Commission has previously put forward proposals to amend the Gag Clauses. Its full set of recommendations is contained in the 2021-2022 Annual Report on pages 27 and 33 to 39, which is published on the agency's official website.