Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia Grange, told the country’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, that King Charles III has referred Jamaica’s slavery reparations petition to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The petition was filed on 7 September 2026 on behalf of the Jamaican people, according to the Jamaica Gleaner and The Guardian.
The petition asked the King, who remains Jamaica’s head of state, to seek an advisory opinion from the country’s highest court on three questions: whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful under English common law, whether it breached international law, and whether the United Kingdom has a legal obligation to provide a remedy. Grange described the decision as a “really big deal”, according to The Guardian.
Jamaica is now awaiting directions from the Privy Council on the next steps in the case, and the country’s attorney general is preparing to handle it, according to the Jamaica Gleaner. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which advises the British monarch, is the final court of appeal for Jamaica and other Commonwealth countries.