THE Government spent more than $192 million to upgrade courthouses during the 2016/17 fiscal year, Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck has announced.

Additionally, the Administration received $20 million in funding support from the United States Embassy in Jamaica, which facilitated the installation of air-conditioning units and provision of computers at several courts.Minister Chuck was making his 2017/18 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.According to Chuck, the Coroner’s Court on Maxfield Avenue in Kingston was undergoing repairs and would reopen shortly.Additionally, the minister said expansion of the Court of Appeal would commence soon and was slated for completion during the current fiscal year.He indicated that the upgraded facility would accommodate at least 12 judges, while assuring that efforts would continue to create more courtroom space as well as strengthen the prosecutorial arm of the justice system.Chuck told the House that the parish courts serving Black River and Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth have been installed with devices and other features to accommodate the physically challenged.The minister added that 78 court buildings would be outfitted with state-of-the-art audio-visual technology and facilities to enable digital recording of evidence through a European Union-supported project.Also, the Jury Management System’s development has been completed and that the feature is being tested in the Supreme Court. The system will facilitate automated jury selection and the electronic generation of summons.— JIS