JUSTICE Minister Delroy Chuck, who is insisting criminal cases must be disposed of “within a reasonable time” to avoid constitutional breaches, says he will be caucusing with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Claudette Thompson to discuss, among other things, greater use of plea bargaining.

“The parish courts are doing a fantastic job in terms of removing the backlog. And I’m hoping that even though the Supreme Court — you’re now at about 70 to 80 per cent— that in short order you will be over 100 per cent.

“At the Ministry of Justice level we want to help to see how best we can get matters moving… I think far too many cases are being tried,” the justice minister told the opening ceremony of the 2026 Strategic Management Retreat at AC Courtyard by Marriott in St Andrew.

“As the chief justice and I have pointed out, many times in America 90 per cent of the cases in all the courts are completed by plea bargaining — and in some states it is higher, as high as 98 per cent. Less than five per cent of the cases are actually tried, and that is something which I believe that the DPP, the officers of the DPP, and the clerk of courts will have to find a way where they can initiate with the defence how they can plead guilty and bargain over sentences, or even bargain on a lesser charge,” the justice minister said further.

According to Chuck, “We must find ways and means to complete these criminal cases within a reasonable time. Once they go outside the reasonable time, in all sincerity, they should be thrown out because they are unconstitutional. They breach the constitution.”

He said the other area to be explored is mediation.

“I know mediation has, over the past years, done very well, especially in the parish courts. A number of parish court judges have referred many matters to mediation, and last year we paid out over 50-odd million dollars to mediators who have been able to settle 80-odd per cent of the matters,” the justice minister reported.

Chuck, who will this Thursday leave the island for Singapore where he will examine that country’s system, said it is hoped that the Mediation Act, which was passed in the Lower House here, will be passed by the Senate come September.

“I really want to urge Jamaicans to mediate before they litigate. Now, when they come to court, my hope is that when matters are at the case management level, matters can be referred to mediation… if you can mediate before you litigate to take off as close to 50 per cent as possible of the matters coming to the courts… it’s a win-win situation for the parties,” the justice minister argued.

“These are matters which I’m really hoping that I will be able to assist the court in getting these matters completed as quickly as possible, and hopefully assist the court in reducing the backlog, and making court matters only dealing with complex issues rather than day-to-day, run-of-the-mill disputes and settlements,” Chuck added.