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Abstract
According to section 10 the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937 (1 Edw.8 & 1 Geo.6, c.38), the office of Leader of the Opposition was recognised insofar as it meant 'that member of the House of Commons who is for the time being the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to His Majesty's Government having the greatest numerical strength in that House'. The Speaker of the House of Commons would determine who that member of the House of Commons was to be if required. However, when it was time to create independence Constitutions for Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago in 1962, the provisions surrounding the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition were modelled on the relevant provisions of the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937, but transferred the responsibility of identifying the Leader of the Opposition from the Speaker to the Governor-General. Both these and later Constitutions in the Commonwealth Caribbean have introduced additional criteria to be used by Governor Generals (in the nine monarchies) and Presidents (in the three republics) to determine the holder of the office of Leader of the Opposition as well as the performance of their functions in cases of delinquency or vacancy.