MEMBERS of the judiciary will today and tomorrow receive hands-on training in criminal case management at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.

A number of members from the public and private bar will join the training programme tomorrow.

The sessions will be conducted by Justice John Thomas and Justice Peter Gross of the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The programme, organised by the Chief Justice, Lensley Wolfe, and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice Carol Palmer, is in support of the move to introduce case management in the criminal jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Jamaica, and follows on the implementation of a similar system in the civil jurisdiction in January 2003, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice.

The statement said the training course for the judiciary will cover a range of critical areas, such as a comparative analysis of case management in criminal and civil matters, the use of video technology, the roles of the parties and the court administrator. The stages in the case management hearing process will also be examined.

According to Palmer, the broadening of case management systems in the Supreme Court is one component in a range of programmes which are aimed at bringing significant improvements to the administration of justice.

She noted that the training of the judiciary is running concurrently with the purchase and installation of additional computer hardware and software to meet the September 2006 deadline.

The computerisation of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and training of its staff, are among the priority project assignments and are set to begin before the end of the 2005/06 financial year in March.

The permanent secretary reiterated that training will remain a key component in the drive towards the improvement efforts for the administration of justice.

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS

Pepper Pot