Judicial report turned over to Prime Minister

A Bar Association Committee has presented a report to the Prime Minister calling for changes they say will improve the functioning of the judiciary. The committee, appointed by the Prime Minister Said Musa and the Attorney General Godfrey Smith found that Belize was not competitive with the region in salaries offered to judges. They recommended an increase in the budget for the judiciary to at least one point twenty-five percent and the establishment of a Judicial and Legal Service, independent of the public service. The service could help correct the perception that there is corruption and a lack of independence in the judiciary. The Bar Association Committee members included V.H. Courtenay, Rodwell Williams, Michael Young, Fred Lumor, Andrew Marshalleck and Michel Chebat.