No let-up on improvements to justice system
We are encouraged by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck’s declaration last week that the Government will continue to focus on enforcing the rule of law and attaining timely outcomes in the court system during the 2018/19 financial year.
For, as Minister Chuck correctly stated, “Everyone appreciates that the justice system plays a very important role in the reduction of crime, or in sending the right signal that persons who engage in crime will be dealt with in a very speedy and appropriate manner.”
That point has been made repeatedly in this space and by other media houses for years, as the efficiency of the justice system is what engenders public confidence that will undoubtedly contribute to respect for, and acknowledgement of law and order.
Readers will recall that, last September, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn was forced to voice frustration at the high volume of court cases in her office and a lack of adequate Crown counsel and support staff.
The DPP said that her office was overburdened with new cases coming into the system and that she had submitted to the ministry a request for 17 posts, which included 10 Crown counsel, to replace those who had been promoted. However, although the budget had been approved by the justice ministry and the permanent secretary in the finance ministry, the positions were still to be filled.
It should not have required Ms Llewellyn to go public for the Government to respond that the Cabinet had signed off on the 17 posts for the Office of the DPP, and that the number of criminal courts at the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston will be doubled from six to 12.
However, the Administration gets a ‘B’ for at least listening and moving to make improvements to a system that is, at best, creaking.
We note that in this year’s Throne Speech the Government indicated that it intends to modernise the justice system. That, we expect, will include greater use of technology which, we maintain, can help cut the heavy backlog of cases.
Indeed, we remind the Government of the suggestions made by Justice Bryan Sykes when he was sworn in as acting chief justice just over two weeks ago. Justice Sykes made a call for increased investment in technology to speed up the judicial process.
“We have instances of mislaid files and documents not filed appropriately. So this is one of the significant contributors to delays, because whenever the documents are not there, the case can’t be heard, and it is pushed back for some further time,” he said.
“One way of resolving this, and the civil procedure rules already speak to this… is the use of appropriate and current technology to do the filing. Electronic filing will go a far way in reducing that kind of event,” Justice Sykes added.
It makes eminent sense, as will the implementation of other platforms, such as video link testimony — which is already in a few courts and needs to be increased — that can bring greater efficiency and, most likely, reduce costs.
We don’t expect that all these improvements will be completed overnight. However, what we don’t want is for the journey to be halted by either of the two political organisations that are given the privilege by the Jamaica people to serve in the legislature.