Questions raised over 51-day delay in Integrity Commission report tabling

A dispute has emerged over whether Parliament may delay the tabling of Integrity Commission reports, after Gordon House said the Integrity Commission Act does not set a specific deadline for such reports to be placed before the House.

The issue centres on reports submitted under section 54(4) of the Act. In a 2023 ruling, Speaker Juliet Holness said reports of that nature would be tabled as soon as possible after Parliament received them, taking account of the seriousness of the matters they contained.

Gordon House has since stated that the legislation does not prescribe an exact tabling timeline. That position has fuelled concern because one report has reportedly remained untabled for 51 days.

Asked whether the 2023 ruling and the current Gordon House position could both stand, the response was that they could not. The speaker's ruling was also cited as saying: "No effort will be made to delay such reports."

The delay was criticised as more than a procedural disagreement. The concern raised was that if reports can be held back indefinitely by presiding officers of Parliament, Jamaica's anti-corruption framework could be weakened.

It was also argued that Parliament's oversight role belongs to all parliamentarians, with the Opposition carrying a particular responsibility to challenge alleged corruption, abuse of power, impropriety and irregularities. The point was made that both the former Contractor General framework and the Integrity Commission Act require such reports to be tabled.