Ushering in a New Legal Year with Nothing Much to Celebrate

A new year is underway on the legal calendar, commencing on a somber note as the judiciary laments the dire straits in which it finds itself once again.  With a bottleneck of undelivered decisions and pending cases brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the budget set aside for the work of the third arm of government has once again been reduced, and the road ahead seems difficult. This morning, during a virtual ceremony, minus the public spectacle that accompanies the procession, the Supreme Court was opened for 2021.  Delivering the addresses were three women representing the bench, the bar, and the Attorney General’s Ministry, respectively. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The legal year 2021 commenced today with the ceremonial opening of the Supreme Court.  Unlike previous years when a procession of judges, lawyers and others within the judiciary made its way along Regent Street to the steps of the courthouse, the launch was done virtually in pre-recorded sessions.  For the first time in the history of Belize’s judicial system, a woman is the presiding judge of the high court.  This morning, Acting Chief Justice Michelle Arana delivered the inaugural address.

Michelle Arana

Michelle Arana, Chief Justice (Ag.)

“The demands on the judicial system are overwhelming.  We in the judicial system are and have always been fully in favor of the improved efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of judgments and the administration of justice in general.  Judges, in large measure, have not been sitting idly by twiddling our thumbs allowing judgments to remain unwritten or cases unheard.  The paucity of manpower and the dearth of resources to address the high volume of cases is such that the small number of judges that we do have, sit in court almost every day presiding over matters of varying degrees of complexity, leaving precious little time to deliver written judgments in a timely manner.”

As pointed out by CJ Arana elsewhere in her presentation, the budget for this legal year has seen further reduction from what was set aside in previous years.

Michelle Arana

“This year’s budget for 2020-2021 has been further reduced to nine million, one hundred and eighty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty-five Belize dollars or zero point zero eight-three percent of the national budget. The harsh reality is that the optimal judicial system that we all envision and desire is simply not attainable on the present underwhelming and inadequate shoestring budget, especially under the present dire circumstances.  We are and have been woefully under-resourced and under-funded for many years and as a result, we suffer from chronic problems which fundamentally and directly impact the level of our productivity and efficiency on a daily basis.”

Addressing the empty courtroom that is the Chief Justice’s chamber, because of the existing COVID-19 measures, was attorney Iliana Swift, President of the Bar Association of Belize.  She touched on the number of accumulated cases that have carried over from last year, as a result of the pandemic and its effects on the function of the judiciary.

Iliana Swift

Iliana Swift, President, Bar Association of Belize

“We expect to see the recruitment of highly reputable judges to fill the current vacancies and to assist in clearing the current backlog in both the civil and criminal courts.  While it is understandable that the courts were unable to sit at their full capacities last year, my lady, there should be no for them not to fully sit this year.  There is no doubt that a large backlog will be carried over as a result of last year’s events.  It is therefore imperative that both the bench and the bar do their part to ensure that matters are dealt with expeditiously and justly.”

In rounding off the trinity of speeches delivered by the leading women in the justice system, Attorney General Magali Marin-Young spoke of the shortfalls of the previous government administration in addressing the infrastructural needs of the judiciary.

Magali Marin-Young

Magali Marin-Young, Attorney General

“The new administration has inherited a woefully neglected judiciary that is structurally in disrepair and that is demoralized.  We have inherited a magistracy where the magistrate court sessions are being convened in inadequate facilities where, in the case of Orange Walk, it is convened in a wooden, prefabricated building commonly referred to as a Mennonite building that is too small, not only to allow for social distancing, as required by the COVID-19 protocols but also for the safety of magistrates and the prosecutor.”

In contrasting its profligate spending on other infrastructure projects, AG Marin pointed to the years of neglect that has brought courtrooms to virtual disrepair.

Magali Marin-Young

“We live in a country where we have a twenty-eight million [dollar] Eleanor Hall Treasury Building which is under construction, a thirty-six point two million [dollar] superfluous airport link road that has now caused Western Pines residents and the Burrell Boom Road to flood and state-of-the-art sporting facilities such as the Marion Jones [Stadium] which boasts a ten million ferro-concrete fence but we have roach and mold infested court facilities with leaking rooms that are woefully inadequate.  The former administration has spent millions unsuccessfully in litigation, spending by best estimates over twenty million [dollars] in legal fees paid to private attorneys but woefully underinvested in the judiciary, causing the infrastructure to decay.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.