KINGSTON, Jamaica — State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley says the Holness administration is pursuing a multi-pronged approach to reform the justice system.

Fitz-Henley says at the heart of the transformation push is the objective of improving outcomes in terms of efficiency and the speed of the delivery of justice.

The state minister made the comment on Friday during his contribution to debate on a bill to amend the Jury Act.

He also commended Justice Minister Delroy Chuck on a series of initiatives to improve the dispensation of justice in Jamaica.

“I think the Parliament should note that Jamaica has been actively transforming its justice system via a comprehensive reformation agenda that includes technology, infrastructure development and alternative dispute settlement mechanisms to enhance efficiency and accessibility,” he said.

The senator added, “I think the minister would be among the first to admit that there are more to be done but indeed the Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST) programme which aims to tackle backlog issues, modernise court proceedings, and to improve public confidence is the system is a step in the right direction.”

Fitz-Henley also identified key steps taken to transform the justice system in the area technological modernisation and digitisation including the Island-wide Court Network (ICMS) and Electronic Filing and Digital Recording Technology to facilitate the taking of evidence without physical attendance at court as important to the justice reform push.

“The transformation of the system being pursued by this administration includes the area of case backlog reduction and management as further evidenced by the Differentiated Case Management (DCM) system and expanded jurisdiction where the monetary limit for civil matters in parish courts was increased, allowing more cases to be handled at the parish level rather than the supreme court”, Fitz-Henley commented.

The state minister says there are several other initiatives as well which form part of the justice system improvement plan including a more dynamic approach to restorative justice along with legislative amendments.

“We have updated laws to speed up justice, not too long ago the so called expungement law was amended in this very chamber, also in 2018, amendments to the Child Diversion Act were passed by this administration,” he stated.

He continued, “The Justice in the Streets initiative where the Ministry of Justice brings justice services directly to communities via a campaign which educates the public on services such as those provided by the Legal Aid Council also shines light on active steps taken by minister Chuck and the Government to make the justice system accessible and affordable to more Jamaicans.”

The state minister says part of the plan to improve the justice system involves focus on comfort of staffers who contribute to the administration of justice.

“Courthouse construction and renovation is also a key part of the plan. In fact, major investments have been made to rehabilitate or build new courthouses (eg in St Ann, Clarendon and St Thomas) to make better the working environment for staff and access for the public,” the minister said.

“We have also trained hundreds of justices of the peace to assist in the more expeditious administration of justice. What I alluded to are just a few elements of a holistic plan to transform the Jamaican justice system”, Fitz-Henley concluded.