Jeremie: ZOSO Bill meets a ‘very real crisis’
- Hge News
- Jan 28
- 2 min read
Hours before Independent senators voted against it, Attorney General John Jeremie defended the Zones of Special Operations Bill, insisting yesterday that its legal safeguards were proportionate and necessary to deal with the country’s escalating gang violence.
He made the comments during the debate of the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill, 2026, in the Senate, responding to concerns raised by Opposition senators about potential abuses of power and the protection of civil liberties.
He pointed first to limits on how long an area can be designated as a zone of special operations.
“One, there’s a limitation on the duration with respect to which you can label a place as a zone. Two, there is parliamentary oversight for an extension of a zone,” he said.
Jeremie also stressed that judicial oversight remains central to the bill.
“There’s judicial oversight. You grab someone, it’s not like a state of emergency where the writ of habeas corpus does not run. This bill provides for judicial oversight. You have a magistrate; you have a judge,” he said.
He also noted differences with the proposed law with detention under a state of emergency.
“You get someone in a state of emergency, what do you do? The Minister of Homeland Security writes on a piece of paper, you are detained. That’s a PDO. That person is detained,” said the Attorney General.
He also assured that under the Zones of Special Operations Bill, detainees would retain their rights.
“There’s a time period on the duration for which you can hold someone in custody. The rights of prisoners are respected. Rights of counsel, family visits,” he told the Senate, adding that “the grounds of arrest must be in accordance with the prevailing law”.
He also said that accountability mechanisms are built into the legislation.
“The Joint Command shall submit a written report to the NSC (National Security Council) every 30 days,” Jeremie said, adding that the bill also provides for “parliamentary approval, parliamentary accountability, parliamentary review every three years”.
“None of these is available in a state of emergency. All of these are indicators of the fact that the bill is proportional and that it meets the very real crisis,” he asserted.
Addressing concerns about what happens after an arrest in a designated zone, Jeremie said, “The bill does not seek to deprive a suspect of his rights. He’s entitled to the normal rights that persons have under the Constitution, statute and the common law. And the writ of habeas corpus obviously runs.”
On the issue of a sunset clause, the Attorney General said it was unnecessary. “We say the bill does not require a sunset clause because Clause 28 already provides for a review by way of a parliamentary committee,” he explained.
Acknowledging calls for wider consultation, Jeremie said the current threat level made delay impossible. “We cannot at this time delay this because we are committed to treating with the gang problem, which this has; we have now seen huge benefits from the state of emergency with respect to gangs.
“We are taking the opportunity now to presume that advantage. And Mr President, I want to tell everyone in this Senate this afternoon, we are not going back.”
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