Photo by Janet Silvera
During a performance by the group Ashe at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall yesterday morning, a delegate from Australia was taught the popular 'Nuh Linga' dance move.

WESTERN BUREAU:

As new threats emerge against justice, Prime Minister Bruce Golding is urging Commonwealth lawyers to centre their attention on the defence of human rights.

Addressing more than 400 legal minds at the opening ceremony of the 25th Commonwealth Lawyers Association conference yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay, the prime minister said that the group had convened at a time when the justice landscape faced many old and new challenges.

Pointing to the deficits that derailed the possibility of justice, the prime minister said its trials ranged from an inadequacy of will, to the inadequacy of resources, to administrative dysfunctionalities and disruptive cultural norms that unbalanced it.

Priority

"Tackling this deficit and redressing these imbalances must continue to be a priority on your agenda," he urged the group.

"This conference provides a valuable opportunity for advancing this cause by reinforcing fundamental concepts, sharing ideas and practices and finding common cause in resisting the forces that if left unchecked, will undermine the system of justice in our respective countries."

The prime minister warned that there was a worrying feeling that gains won over decades of jurisprudential development and enrichment were in danger of being eroded as justice faced global and national challenges.

Fundamental principles

According to Golding, fundamental principles and the systems that are built upon them, must have the capacity to respond to the security of the need of the people they were designed to protect. Yet, he warned that lawyers must be ever mindful of the danger of re-engineering legal and judicial systems to meet the exigencies of the times.

"Jamaica is currently grappling with this dilemma," he said.

Jamaica, he continued, though not directly affected by international terrorism, had to acknowledge its vulnerability and had to take steps to ensure that it was better able to respond.

According to the prime minister, in enacting relevant legislation, the country had painstakingly sought to calibrate the powers that were seen as being required to deal with this new phenomenon, with the duty to respect and safeguard fundamental rights.