AG seeking to reduce court backlog

ATTORNEY GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall says an additional three judges could help to decongest the backlog of cases in the court system, however, the relocation of the Supreme Court is currently taking the priority.

Marshall, who was officially sworn in on Sunday, told the media yesterday that since then he has met with Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson on a number of issues, including the relocation plans for the Supreme Court and the delays plaguing the system.

According to Marshall, “I have spoken repeatedly in the House of Assembly on the issue of the delays in the court system and I think the Chief Justice and I will work together to ensure that we try to eliminate the backlog and establish a framework for going forward. Part of this would include specialised courts; it would also include the additional appointment of judges.”

“The Prime Minister has given me the assurance that the integrity of the justice system is so important to Barbados, that she has assured me I would be able to somehow get the resources needed to do what is necessary to ensure that justice can be delivered to the people of Barbados as they are entitled.”

“I think the Prime Minister has given her consent to three. We now have to look at the costings and so on. While we would need to make long-term provision, there is a provision within the Constitution that would allow the Governor General, in circumstances where the business of the Court requires it, to make an appointment of acting judges so that appointment could be made without actually having to amend the legislation immediately,” he explained.

Giving an update on the operations of the Supreme Court, he said the closure to facilitate its relocation will take place shortly, quite possibly by this weekend.

“The Courts will be relocated for hopefully no more than four months. Four months will allow for all of the cleaning and the repair of the roof of the Supreme Court building to take place and then hopefully we would be able to bring the court system back into a reasonable level of accommodation,” he said.

It is against this backdrop that he explained that to appoint new judges in a situation where they are in temporary accommodation is impractical.

“As soon as we get the officers and the courts operating back in their proper location, I think we will be in a position to make those appointments then. I am hopeful that in this four month period where the court is relocated, we will be able to put all the heavy lifting in place to facilitate the additional appointments.” (JH)