By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterA MISSION STATEMENT tacked on to the walls of the reception area of the Court of Appeal on Monday by Ministry of Justice representatives has evoked wry amusement among lawyers. The statement - "Timely Delivery of a high standard of Justice for all" has been criticised as inadequate.
Several lawyers who read it said the aim should be for "speedy delivery" rather than "timely delivery", in regard to the huge backlog of cases in the courts islandwide and hundreds of prisoners languishing in custody.
For the past 10 years the justice system has failed to make a significant inroad into the huge backlog of cases on the Home Circuit Court list. There are at least 150 cases being traversed term after term. The Easter session of the Home Circuit Court, which began on April 9, had 232 cases listed for trial, 188 of which were traversed from the previous term.
Civil cases, some of which were filed in the Supreme Court Registry three years ago, are now being set for trial next year. The Resident Magistrates' Courts also have their share of backlog.
Last week the Court of Appeal freed Michael Stewart who had spent five years in custody awaiting the notes of evidence from the Supreme Court. He had appealed against his conviction and eight-year prison sentence for sacrilege. The notes of evidence were not received until two weeks ago as it was reported that the court reporter who took the notes of evidence had left the island and the notes had to be taken from the judge's notebook.
Commenting on the Mission Statement, attorney-at-law Wentworth Charles said "we have a far way to go to achieve that if it is going to be our objective". He said the Mission Statement was "laudable" but resources would have to be put in place to make it achievable.
Mr. Charles referred to the fact that there was the need for more judges in the Court of Appeal. He said on numerous occasions the judges have complained of the heavy workload.
There are seven judges in the Court of Appeal but the judges say there is an urgent need for at least three more judges.
"If the Mission is going to be achievable then infrastructure must be put in place to support it," Mr. Charles said. He said provisions should be put in place for an independent budget for the courts so that goals could be set and achieved in a timely way.
He referred to the fact that there was no standby generator at the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal. Mr. Charles said that on occasions when there was a power cut in the area, the courts had to adjourn.
He said recently he appeared in a case in which the litigants came all the way from England but because of a power cut the case had to be adjourned.
Attorney-at-law Patrick Bailey's says "it is good that the authorities recognise the necessity for timeliness in the delivery of justice. We should resolve to have a speedy delivery so that persons will be confident in the prospect of getting justice quickly and not resort to other means of settling disputes."
