Six judges were sworn into higher office on Friday during a ceremony at King’s House in St Andrew.

Taking the oath of office were Sonia Bertram Linton, Dale Palmer, Calys Wiltshire and Lisa Palmer Hamilton who will serve as puisne judges in the Supreme Court; Justice Carol Edwards, who will serve as judge in the Appeal Court; and Yvonne Brown who will serve as master-in-chambers.

President of Court of Appeal Justice Dennis Morrison, during his remarks, congratulated the judges on their appointment and urged them to be open to public scrutiny.

“As you well know, 2016 has been a challenging year for the judiciary. Judges, their shortcomings, their foibles and their delinquencies have been the flavour of the day in the press, in the public utterances of a number of persons, journalist and other people, some of whom, I am bound to say, should know better. The call for justice resounds across the land.

“Judges, in fact, complain, some of them bitterly, about some of the things we had heard and say over the last year or two. But I think some balance is important and it is right that it should be so, that judges should be open to the closest public scrutiny and, where necessary, serious criticism. Judges, after all perform a public function and the public at large has a legitimate interest in ensuring that justice is more than an abstraction,” Morris continued, noting that judicial accountability is valuable in all sectors of society.

Imploring that judges too must have a vested interest, he revealed that enough importance has not been placed on balancing the justice system in recent times.

“Balance is critical. judges are, I assert, supposed to submit themselves to public scrutiny and criticism; judges are equally entitled, and I would also insist on a cognizant level of support from the legislator and the executive of the country. and I think it is fair to say in recent time that balance has got out of queue and that we have paid more attention to the delinquencies of judges and the shortcomings in the system in which they operate,”

In expressing gratitude on the behalf of Jamaica for their continuous law of zeal, he urged the judges to consult their colleagues in challenging times.

Chief Justice Zaila McCalla, in extending her congratulations to the appointees, urged them to continue serving with diligence.

“Judges are not selected merely by their seniority but by their proven track record of high standards of performance,” she stated, adding that the Judicial Service Commission saw it fit to recommend their promotion at a higher level.

The chief justice, however, disclosed that the justice system lost three judges last year to early retirement.

— Racquel Porter