Changes are to be made to 600 pieces of legislation to weed out archaic penalties which have long been criticised as serving as nothing more than symbolism to people who run afoul of some of the country’s laws.
Announcing the initiative in his 2017/18 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives yesterday, Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck noted the trending public discussion and outcry against outdated fines.
Most recently, the $100 fine imposed on reputed gangster Tesha Miller triggered public ridicule and contempt, and was called “embarrassing” by Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell, even as she handed down the sentence on April 18. Miller was fined the paltry sum, which is the maximum penalty for making a false declaration to Jamaican immigration officials.
Yesterday, Chuck said the programme is being carried out by the Legal Reform Department of the ministry to review and repeal the pieces of legislation to bring penalties up to date and current.
“This work has started and is now being fast-tracked. Many of the laws have never been changed, and many still have imperial measures — you still see in these laws British pounds, and feet and yards, and we should be going to dollars and cents. In due course we may have to work three days per week to update the laws of the country,” he advised.
Meanwhile, the minister said work has started to reduce the backlog of cases in civil and criminal courts, with the chief justice having instituted a statistical case management system that identifies cases that have been delayed for five years or more. He said the Government has set a 10 per cent reduction target for case backlogs for this fiscal year, and a reduction in cases that are two to three years old by 2020.
Chuck noted also that while the backlog is being tackled, the ongoing demands on the island’s courts must be reduced through the strengthening of alternative measures, such as restorative justice, arbitration, mediation, and child diversion.
Fourteen parish justice centres are to be opened across the island, with the first set for St Ann in July, another for St Mary in August, then one in Portland in October. Others are to be completed during the course of the fiscal year.
He explained that these centres will coordinate the alternative dispute resolution processes in each parish and that a significant number of the cases that would normally be resolved in the traditional court system will be diverted to these centres.
At the same time, the Government has also been holding discussions to engage part-time judges. Cabinet has already approved the constitutional changes that are required to undertake this initiative, and legislation is to be brought to the House soon, Chuck informed.
He also again urged judges to hand down their judgements swiftly in order to dispense justice and dispose of cases in a timely manner. He, however, emphasised that: “This Government has no intention of trespassing on the independence, which we recognise to be fundamental to the dispensation of justice and the preservation of our democracy, (but) everyone, including the judiciary, must see the link between problems in the society, economic growth, and the performance of the court system.”
He argued: “It’s not fair that the litigants wait for two, five, eight years and then finally have their cases in court, (then) have to wait another year, another two years. With due respect, we have to ask our judges to, please, once the case has been heard, try to deliver the judgement within a reasonable time.”
The justice minister also gave an update on the status of construction and upgrading of courts across the island, noting that $192 million was spent last fiscal year on the repair, maintenance, construction, and enhancement of court facilities.
