THE GOVERNMENT of Jamaica, through the Ministry of Justice, has received a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist in improving the efficiency of the justice system in Jamaica.
The grant, which falls under USAID's 'Democracy and Governance: Strengthening the Rule of Law' programme, will be used to modernise the courts' information and communications technology systems, provide judicial training to judges, magistrates and court staff and launch a public awareness and education campaign on the rule of law.
It will also include a renovation of facilities to accommodate the Caribbean Court of Justice when it sits in Jamaica. This will demand an upgrading of the justice system to a satisfactory standard.
The Ministry has invited contract consultancy services from member countries of USAID to submit expressions of interest to produce a five-year capital development plan for the network of courthouses and buildings islandwide.
According to Ministry information, the plan will involve renovation of the physical infrastructure of the judicial system, which includes 54 courthouses, the Justice Training Institute, the court reporting school, the corporate office and a number of other buildings islandwide. The contractors will determine what courthouses should be strengthened, which ones should be eliminated, and will acquire new court premises where necessary. The consultancy will also be required to propose a phased improvement plan that will have the courts upgraded to a level befitting a justice system.
This has become important because of computerisation that is now taking place in the courts that warrants an alignment with the physical infrastructure, the Ministry said. Allowances in the new system will be made for the physically handicapped, environmental hazards, comfort and adequate security. The consultants will be required to conduct a detailed review to determine the scope of work to be done on each courthouse/building, propose a work schedule for upgrading of courthouses and provide estimates for the monthly maintenance costs for existing or proposed facilities. According to USAID's website, the ongoing programme to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Jamaica includes a mix of technical assistance and training to assist civil society organisations to become more actively engaged in issues of crime, violence, and governance; to establish modernised systems throughout Jamaica's legal structure; a civic education and public awareness campaign and to improve community-police relations.
USAID is the largest single bilateral donor to Jamaica and since 1962 has provided almost US$2 billion in development assistance and economic support funds.
