That justice reform is moving ahead is good news as the justice system has many cracks that need to be mended and the public has a right to know what is being done. The progress of justice reform was pointed out in a statement of major national importance by Minister of Justice and Attorney General Senator Dorothy Lightbourne at a recent public forum organised by Jamaicans for Justice and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

Following is a summary of some of the steps highlighted by Senator Lightbourne in her statement:

The need for reform of Jamaica’s justice system has been evident for some time now. The government recognised that in order to promote good governance and economic development, the justice system must be efficient and effective. Many challenges have plagued the country over the last two decades, including inadequate funding in critical areas, outdated methodologies and technologies, inadequate training of human resources and neglect of the physical infrastructure. In addition, a culture of inefficiency at all levels has left the people with a justice system that is unable to meet the needs of the country.

The Jamaica Justice System Reform Task Force made nearly 200 recommendations to reform the justice system. In an effort to implement these recommendations, the Justice Transformation Agenda Framework was developed with a five-year implementation schedule. The agenda sets out seven strategic objectives under which the various recommendations fall. These priorities are: ensuring the fair and timely resolution of cases, improving access to justice, strengthening the judiciary workforce, strengthening linkages between justice sector institutions, establishing a sound court infrastructure, implementing a social component to the delivery of justice and strengthening public trust and confidence in the justice system. The programme began with the implementation of more than 70 recommendations; 14 have been referred to the Ministry of National Security, nine have been determined to require further assessment before implementation, while 80 recommendations have not been implemented but are scheduled to be implemented over the next five years.

A Justice Reform Implementation Unit (JRIU) has been established within the Ministry of Justice, with the support of the Canadian partners, to strengthen Jamaica’s capacity to push the reform. Specifically, the unit will monitor the pace and effectiveness of the reform initiatives around three objectives as the most urgent priorities: fair and timely resolution of cases, establishing a sound court infrastructure, and strengthening of public confidence. With respect to fair and timely resolution of cases, the most significant problem is the backlog of cases to be tried in the courts, which has had an impact on the ability of the courts to deal with newly filed matters. To meet this objective, the complement of judges is to be increased. The number of judges in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal has been increased. There are also eight additional resident magistrates.

The Jury Act was amended to widen the pool from which jurors can be selected and to tackle the problem of inability to hear cases because of the juror shortage. This has been a contributing factor to the growth of the backlog of cases. Previously, jurors could only be selected from those between the ages of 18 and 65 years and who were listed on the voters’ list. With the recent amendments, jurors will be selected from the expanded pool by the end of the year using the Tax Registration Numbers. The amendment of the Jury Act also transferred the responsibility for serving of summonses to jurors from the Commissioner of Police to the Registrar of the Supreme Court. This is a major step forward and will allow the justice system to overcome the challenges faced when the police serve summonses at short notice or fail to serve them at all. The Registrar is now empowered to make suitable arrangements to have summonses served by other methods.

The delays experienced in the resolution of cases have also been affected by the backlog of files in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). Therefore, approval has been obtained to increase the number of prosecutors by 12. So far, the ODPP has employed seven additional prosecutors and engaged eight former prosecutors to assist in the reduction of the backlog of files in that office and the prosecution of cases. It is expected that these measures will go a far way in improving the timely resolution of cases. A sound court infrastructure is critical to the ability to deliver an efficient and responsive justice system. The establishment of Justice Square will accommodate the expansion of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and house the extended office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the newly created Court Management Service (CMS). This unit will give the Chief Justice greater independence and control over the management and administration of the courts. The implementation of case management in criminal cases has already begun. The British government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has supported the project with a sum of £220,000 to start training of judges, resident magistrates, attorneys and the public and private bars and staff from the Criminal Registry.

The statement also mentioned the delivery of service in the courts highlighting real-time transcription, the recently passed Sex Offenders Act; the work being done to establish a Sex Offenders Registry to enable the tracking and monitoring of sex offenders, and the Child Pornography Act which criminalises the production and possession of child pornography. The statement spoke about the complaints of citizens who are victimised and abused by members of the security forces, and to tackle this problem an independent commission is being created to conduct investigations into abuses of citizens with such complaints. Also coming is a special coroner to conduct inquiries into the deaths of citizens where the security forces and agents of the state are involved.