Probate, divorce case backlog to be cleared by end of 2019, Justice Minister projects
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck projects that
the list of probate and divorce cases in the court system will be cleared up by
the end of 2019.
He made the disclosure while speaking on
Saturday (September 28) at a training seminar for judges and lay magistrates,
at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa, Montego Bay, St. James.
Minister Chuck noted that measures
implemented by the ministry to clear the backlog, have resulted in a consistent
reduction in the number of probates and divorce cases, with reports of matters
being disposed of within six months.
“Only recently, I have heard from a number
of attorneys that they are getting probates done within three months. Now this
is revolutionary because probates were taking two years and five years. The
Chief Justice (Bryan Sykes) intimated that probates and divorces, which used to
take two years, are now being done within six months,” he informed.
Chuck further informed of improvements in
the completion rate of criminal cases brought before courts, since the start of
this year.
He pointed to the Chief Justice’s comments
that the judicial system needs to clear 130 cases per 100 to fully address the
backlog.
“For the first quarter of this year, for every 100 cases that came in, 103 cases were completed and in the second quarter, April to June. for every 100 cases that came in, 108 cases were done. What we are looking for by the end of the year [is] that for every 100
cases, we [clear] over 130 cases,” Chuck
informed.
The Justice Minister also stated the need
to use plea bargaining, to further reduce the backlog of cases.
“What we want to do is to use moral suasion
to see if we can get the cases completed on time. So, the Chief Justice hopes
that within a short period of time, court cases can be completed within 24
months, but if they are not completed within 24 months, hopefully 36 months.
For that to happen, it has to be attacked from all angles. First, persons who
are guilty must feel to accept their responsibility and go and beg for mercy,”
he contended.
Meanwhile, Minister Chuck commended the
organisers of the training initiative, stating that “any measure to improve the
professional competence of lay magistrates is a bold step in the right
direction”.
“I want an army of competent and committed
Lay Magistrates who will play a pivotal role in the reform of the justice
sector,” he stated.
For her part, High Commissioner of Canada
to Jamaica Laurie Peters, reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to supporting justice
reform in Jamaica.
She said the training session represents a
model approach used in Canada and provides an opportunity for “everyone to
experience new methods of learning and to assess and improve their own
approaches and professional practice”.
The three-day training session was
organised by the Justice Training Institute, Justice Undertakings for Social
Transformation (JUST) and the National Integrity Action (NIA).
It forms part of a strategic partnership
between the Governments of Jamaica and Canada to develop and improve the
nation’s justice sector.