JUSTICE Minister Delroy Chuck says recommendations for a percentage increase in the salaries of parish court judges — now being considered by him and Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke — are to come to Parliament “in due course”.

The indication comes following a call last week by Opposition spokeswoman on justice Senator Donna Scott-Mottley for the Government to “review the categorisation of judicial officers to ensure fair and equitable treatment for all judges”.

Highlighting that parish court judges handle approximately 90 per cent of cases and interact with a broad cross section of the population, Scott-Mottley noted that the current backlog of cases in parish courts stands at an impressive 2.5 per cent, well below the international standard of 2.5 per cent to five per cent.

“Parish court judges should be fully integrated into the judiciary, with constitutional protection and adequate remuneration. All judicial officers should be treated as one, and therefore their remuneration should be considered at the same time by one commission,” Scott-Mottley said at the time.

The justice minister, in responding to his Opposition counterpart’s concerns, told the Jamaica Observer on Friday, “that was already done — she should know this. In the report of the Independent Commission there was an alignment of the parish court judges’ compensation, not totally, but some alignment with the Supreme Court judges’ salaries, and it will continue. There is a constitutional amendment that has been in the process to give them security of tenure, which has not been completed but is in train”.

As to the pending percentage increase Chuck said, “I can’t tell you the exact percentage but in the report which is now being considered by the minister of finance and myself, recommendations have been made. But, until it is approved by the Ministry of Finance and by the Cabinet and Parliament, I can’t tell you but it will hopefully come to Parliament in due course.”

Parish court judges have the jurisdiction to try cases summarily as well as on indictment. The level of sanction, in terms of fines and imprisonment, are lower than that which may be imposed in the Supreme Court. Parish court judges preside over a range of courts at this level. Apart from exercising jurisdiction in criminal cases, parish court judges preside over the Coroner’s Court, Traffic Court, Drug Court, Tax Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court and Civil Court. Appeals from the parish court are also made to the Court of Appeal.

In May this year Chuck, who said the Government is actively working to improve the salaries of judges in the parish courts, announced that Jamaica’s judges have moved from being among the lowest-paid in the Caribbean to among the highest-paid.

In 2019 Cabinet approved salary increases for parish judges; similar to those approved for the wider public service at the time which saw them pegged to receive 16 per cent over a three-year period at the rate of five per cent, two per cent, and nine per cent, respectively.

This followed the establishment in 2017 of a commission — chaired by Leighton McKnight, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers — to enquire into the emoluments of judges of the parish courts and other specified positions. In arriving at its final position with regard to salaries and other benefits for the parish judges, the commission was mindful of, and attempted to balance the implications against a range of considerations.