KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Court of Appeal is reporting a judgment delivery rate of 560 per cent for the year 2024.

This was disclosed by Justice of Appeal, Paulette Williams, during the opening of the Michaelmas Term of the Court of Appeal in Kingston on September 22.

“[This] means that for every 10 newly reserved judgments in 2024, roughly 56 judgments were delivered, far exceeding the international standard for judgment delivery of 100 per cent,” Williams said.

“We have a hearing date certainty of 86.1 per cent, which means that for every 100 hearing dates set during the year, roughly 86 proceeded without postponement. This is below the international standard of 95 per cent, and it reflected an increase of 1.08 percentage points compared to 2023; but it shows that the court continues to trend in the right direction,” she added.

Williams also reported a significant reduction in the number of reserved judgments before the Court of Appeal.

She noted, however, that “for every one that we manage to dispose of, you know one more may well be added.”

Williams also highlighted that the Court of Appeal has maintained a case disposal rate exceeding the clearance rate of incoming matters for three consecutive years, with the 2024 rate recorded at 102 per cent.

While slightly below the 2023 figure, the rate for 2024 surpasses the critical 100 per cent benchmark—an essential threshold for reducing the court’s backlog and maintaining a manageable level of case congestion.

—   JIS