Jamaica right in delaying to sign Samoa agreement

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I write with reference to the article ‘EU ‘surprised‘ Jamaica delays signing new deal’, published in The Gleaner on November 26.

I concur with Jamaica to delay signing the Samoa Agreement, and I am not surprised that they need further consultations on the matter.

Thirty-five members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), including Jamaica, did not sign the Samoa Agreement. There are a total of 79 OACPS members.

On the other hand, if 44 per cent of 27 countries delayed signing the agreement, this would be 12 countries that delayed signing the agreement. Therefore, the prime ministers of 12 countries could not ignore this concern.

This would mean that everybody who did not sign the agreement does not believe the Samoa Agreement was a valid contract.

There are elements that are required for legal contracts. Some of them are offer, acceptance, awareness, consideration, capacity, legality, and meeting of minds.

All those who did not sign the Samoa Agreement have at least two of the above elements in common. They are: meeting of the minds and capacity.

Legal capacity is when the parties indicate that they understand the contract’s obligations, terms, and consequences before they sign it.

Finally, it is obvious that those who did not sign the agreement do not understand the legal capacity. So it makes sense that they delay signing the agreement for further consultations on the matter.

CARGILL KELLY