Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
Generation 2000 (G2K) vice-president, attorney-at-law Kent, Gammon (left) raises a point during a press conference at the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Belmont Road headquarters, yesterday. G2K president, Dr. Christopher Tufton,
listens keenly. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
GENERATION 2000 (G2K), the young professional arm of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), wants Parliament to help appoint Supreme Court judges, as part of an overhaul of the justice system.
G2K has also proposed the computerisation of the entire court system, expanding and upgrading court facilities, and discontinuing unsworn statements from the dock, replacing it with a sworn statement subject to cross-examination.
Attorney-at-law Kent Gammon, G2K vice-president, said yesterday that inadequate staffing at the courts, the lack of case documentation and the lack of technology and security contribute to the slow delivery of justice.
"We believe the appointment of judges at the Supreme Court level should be subject to two-thirds approval of Parliament, on the recommendation of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)," he said during a press briefing at the JLP's Belmont Road, New Kingston, headquarters.
He added, however, that the JSC would be the sole body empowered to remove judges as is the established procedure.
Justice Minister A.J. Nicholson told The Gleaner that the proposal would not work in Jamaica, as he felt it would be subject to political
manipulation.
"That is one of the very reasons we have not found this [practice] anywhere else in the Commonwealth," he said.
Supreme Court not final
He said that, additionally, unlike the United States Supreme Court which interprets that country's constitution and is the final appellate court, the local Supreme Court is a court of first instance - meaning that decisions made there can be challenged in the Appeal Court and the United Kingdom Privy Council.
Yesterday, Mr. Gammon also called for security of tenure for resident magistrates whose judgments he said have been generally sound.
"We feel the time has come for the resident magistrates to have security of tenure as part of their appointments," he added.
Pointing to the backlog of cases, Mr. Gammon said that between April 2003 and March 2004, there had been less than a 50 per cent disposal rate of Supreme Court cases during the Hilary, Easter and Michaelmas sessions.
In the case of the Court of Appeal, which he said was the most efficient court, there were 366 cases pending at the beginning of 2002. He added that 477 new cases were filed, 127 were disposed of, leaving 716 cases pending at the end of the year.
