2004 will see improved judiciary
It was a pity that there was no cruise ship in port today as the pageantry that took place on Regent Street this morning was definitely several cuts above the usual fire eater or snake man. But while it was the show in front of the Supreme Court that drew a crowd, it was the talk inside that will have a lasting impact on the people. News 5’s Patrick Jones has the story.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
The parade of the judges, magistrates, and lawyers down Albert Street gave the law-abiding public a rare look at the men and women who keep wheels of justice spinning.
With crowds of spectators and school children watching, Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Police Department.
Dr. Abdulai Conteh, Chief Justice
“What the occasion does signify however, is that with the passage of time, we must, especially in the administration of justice, take time out to reflect, appreciate, and resolve to do better and improve on the past year.”
In a marathon forty-five minute speech, Conteh detailed the human drama that played out in courtrooms across the nation. And despite its ups and downs, the system kept pace with the demand for justice during 2003. Chief Justice Conteh was upbeat about a new set of rules for litigation in the Supreme Court, scheduled to come on stream by the end of the first quarter.
Dr. Abdulai Conteh
“In the first place they will be in ordinary English which every layman should be able to understand. And the procedures are set out, we do not now have complex rules as to pleadings. You file for example just your complaint or your statement of claim, and the other side put in his defence. It’s much more straightforward than the present rules allow for.”
But simplification of Supreme Court procedures is not the only change to be expected for the judiciary this year. Former Attorney General Godfrey Smith put forward some ideas on improving the dispensation of justice, and his successor Eamon Courtenay saw no reason to disagree with him.
Godfrey Smith, Former Attorney General
“It is my view that abolishing preliminary inquiry at the Magistrates Courts before cases are sent up to the Supreme Court can cut in half the time it take for a case to come to trial before the Supreme Court without prejudicing the accused persons presumption of innocence or his right to a fair hearing. Highest among perceptions is that perhaps that the criminals get off on technicalities. To rebalance, this a comprehensive review of the law of criminal evidence may have to be considered to make it an efficient and simple agent for securing justice.”
Eamon Courtenay, Attorney General
“I think they are excellent ideas. As you had seen, one of the things we signalled is the need for new rules in the Magistrate Court. And on the criminal side in particular, I think there is a sense of frustration that cases are investigated by the police, then they are in the D.P.P.’s office for a very long time, and then by the time they get to the Magistrates Court there are many adjournments. We need to address that problem squarely.”
And to tackle the challenges head-on, Courtenay says he does not plan to reinvent the wheel but will continue to build on the success of his predecessor, at the same time injecting a new level of efficiency in the system.
Eamon Courtenay
“The biggest complaint we hear is that cases are not tried speedily enough. With the new rules that are going to come into force, the delay in the trial of cases should be greatly reduced. Also in the magistracy, I think we will have to do a similar type of reform of the rules in the Magistrates Court to ensure that people, or try to reduce the frustration of people who keep going there getting cases adjourned and adjourned, not knowing of trial dates and so on and so forth. So it’s a new level of efficiency that we will seek to create.”
That drive for efficiency in the judiciary started today when Courtenay, responding to the C.J.’s request for a fifth judge on the Supreme Court bench, suggested that the current compliment is adequate to handle a properly managed case load.
Eamon Courtenay
“What people want to see is value for money. And that is why in my speech I sort of laid out a foundation for a need for courts to work a full day, for judges to be seen to be at court on time. Once that is done, I think the case for more resources for the judiciary will be a lot easier.”
Patrick Jones, for News 5.
Another suggestion made by Godfrey Smith is the introduction of what he called a special regime which will allow for the use of screens to prevent vulnerable witnesses from having visual contact with the defendants. He also advocated allowing video recordings of interviews with such persons to be admitted as evidence in court and to give judges the power to allow only certain persons in the court room during testimony from high risk witnesses. As to the backlog of appeals from the Magistrate’s Court, Courtenay says that Senior Counsel Denys Barrow will shortly be appointed to clear those cases. Special guests at this morning’s ceremonial opening of the Supreme Court were President of Guatemala’s Supreme Court Alfonso Carrillo Castillo and Justice Geraldo Flores.
