MEMBERS of Jamaica’s judiciary have underscored their independence while scoffing at claims by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green that he will organise a retreat for judges to sensitise them on the harm being done to farmers due to praedial larceny.

“We would like to use this medium to assure the public, and members of the legal profession, that the executive arm of [the] Government does not determine what type of judicial education is appropriate for judges.

“The reminder comes as the judiciary notes a media report, which was published in at least one of the daily newspapers, in which certain remarks have been attributed to the executive arm of Government as manifested by the Ministry of Agriculture. The report suggests that the Ministry of Agriculture will be organising a training seminar and inviting judges to attend,” the Court Administration Division said in a release on Sunday.

The release noted that the retreat is being organised in an effort to have judges understand the level of losses farmers have been experiencing at the hands of criminals, and that first-hand knowledge is the best and most effective way of addressing the problem.

“The role of the judiciary is to interpret and apply the law…passed by Parliament. The judiciary will, and can only take into account the evidence presented in court, and therefore ”the level of losses farmers have been experiencing at the hands of criminals is not a relevant consideration to determine whether the evidence presented in court has proven that the person has committed the offence charged.

“For the judiciary, having ‘first-hand knowledge is the best and most effective way of addressing the problem’ cannot be a factor in adjudication. The legislature has enacted the Proceeds of Crime Act that addresses the issue of persons who benefit from criminal activity,” added the release.

It noted that judicial education is solely within the remit of the judiciary of Jamaica, in keeping with the independence of the judiciary and that the judiciary is fully aware of its responsibility to interpret and apply the laws as enacted by the Parliament of Jamaica.

“Further, the judiciary of Jamaica has a Judicial Education Institute that is the sole body responsible for determining the training needs of the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary is a non-negotiable aspect of our democracy and must be guarded zealously,” the release added.

Following a tour of sections St Ann last Thursday, Green described praedial larceny as the biggest threat facing Jamaica’s agricultural sector and argued that one of the main problems is that the fines are too low, to the point where the offenders are not the least worried about facing the courts.

“One of the things we are going to do is to have a retreat for our judges. We have done it already in fisheries and we are going to do it in agriculture,” said Green.

“I have already discussed this with the permanent secretary, and this is something we are going to get done. We want to walk our justices through agriculture and the Agricultural Produce Act [aimed at tackling praedial larceny], so they can appreciate the level of losses our farmers have been experiencing at the hands of criminals. Sometimes having that first-hand knowledge is the best and most effective way of addressing the problem,” Green added.

He said he expects the retreat to be held before the end of the year, adding that urgent action is needed to deal with the problem of praedial larceny.