The Court of Appeal is on course to dispose of a significant number of cases which should, in short order, lead to the backlog in the system being cleared, according to Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.

“What that means in practical terms is that this will be the third year that this is happening, and what the statisticians will tell us is that when you have that performance for three consecutive years, then that is now confirmed as the current standard of the court. The court has steadily improved,” Sykes said at King’s House in St Andrew on Monday, during the swearing-in ceremony for two Court of Appeal judges, two puisne judges, and a master-in-chamber.

“In time, the Court of Appeal will reduce its backlog. That is how backlog is reduced, by disposing more cases than cases coming in. We congratulate the judges there, the staff, the registrar, the police officers and all the persons who have contributed to the performance of the courts,” the chief justice said.

Sykes also extended hearty congratulations to the five judges on being appointed to higher office.

Justice Kissock Laing was appointed judge of the Court of Appeal, Justice Georgiana Fraser was made an acting judge in the Court of Appeal, Opal Smith and Tracey-Ann Johnson were appointed acting puisne judges, while Christine McNeil was appointed acting master-in-chamber.

Sykes said that by virtue of their contribution to the judicial system, “they have and continue to enhance the rule of law” and are “strengthening judicial independence which contributes to meeting one of our strategic objectives, namely increasing trust and confidence in our courts by hearing and disposing of cases fairly, justly, courteously, and consistent with the judiciary’s core values”.

He singled out Justice Laing for special praise.

“We have in Honourable Justice Laing an excellent judge and excellent person and a supremely wonderful human being, and so congratulations to him on his appointment. I wish to say thanks to all who nurtured him from the time he was a baby, to toddler, to primary school, to Munro College and then The University of the West Indies and throughout his professional life so that he has become the judicial officer that he is capable and worthy of appointment to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica,” the chief justice said.

Sykes shared that Justice Laing began his legal career as a clerk of court in the then Resident Magistrate’s Court in the Corporate Area in 1991. He went to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1992 and then left in 1995 for Anguilla, where he practised commercial law for a number of years.

“He returned to Jamaica and was at Finsac to provide legal services there. He commenced his judicial career as a resident magistrate at the Resident Magistrate’s Court in St Catherine in 2000. He then went to the Resident Magistrate’s Court in the Corporate Area and then in 2005 he went to the British Virgin Islands and continued his practice in commercial law until he returned here and was appointed to the Supreme Court.

“While there he presided in criminal and general civil matters before finally settling in the commercial division of the Supreme Court and there he was until he was invited to act in the Court of Appeal in 2002 and has done so continuously except for one part of the Hilary term in 2023,” Sykes said.

“His knowledge, skill, competence, expeditious completion of matters, his efficient management of cases, marked him as a dedicated, efficient judicial officer. In short, he was not simply a book-qualified judge, but his judge-craft made him performance-qualified to sit in the Court of Appeal and to be confirmed,” Sykes said.

He added that Laing is a reliable and excellent member of the court who embodies the spirit of collegiality, supports his colleagues and supports the activities of the court and, importantly, has honed the important skill of disagreeing agreeably.

“He has contributed to the judiciary not only through his jurisprudence but by developing a discussion paper on the use of artificial intelligence. He has agreed to chair that committee to examine all questions related to the use of artificial intelligence within the judiciary and to make recommendations which, if accepted, will transform into practice direction. We look forward to his contribution in that regard,” Sykes said.