The backlog in the courts

Mar 19, 2009 Editorial

Over the past few days there has been a lot of talk about the growing backlog of cases in the justice system. At the end of 2007 there was a frightening total of 21,366 and growing. We are not yet aware of what the final figure was at the end of last year but we are certain that it has grown.

Many cases have been in the system for as long as twenty years and even more. Some civil cases have been there because of the absence of the litigants and sometimes the change in lawyers. In a few cases, the retirement of judges has caused some cases to be halted, only to be restarted whenever a judge is appointed. Sometimes, there is the urgent need to expedite certain new matters and this does not help the cause of those matters that have been aborted for one reason or the other.

When a matter remains undecided in the courts it lends credence to the maxim that justice delayed is justice denied. Take the case of Mr Steven Liburd whose home went up in flames and who, with the help of the Guyana Fire Service, determined that the electricity company was responsible for the fire.
He moved to courts and after a relatively lengthy delay, he secured judgement in the lower court. As could be expected the power company appealed. That was also a lengthy process and Mr Steven Liburd died before a decision could have been reached. The power company won because death intervened and the sum ordered to be paid by the lower court was negated.

There are many such cases. However, many are not even completed in the lower court. And the backlog grows. At the rate the backlog is increasing, very soon cases would not be heard and a determination of the outcome would become impossible. This is the crisis that is facing the judicial system.
It is the same with some murder cases. A man is arrested and since murder is non-bailable the man must languish in the prison. There have been cases of people waiting seven years for their trial although these days it seems as though the wait is no longer than three years.

One reason for the shortage is the willingness of the presiding judges to grant adjournments; another is the system that does not allow lawyers to appear before the judge to present their arguments instead of having them submit their brief to the judge as a prelude to the arguments.

In places where lawyers must present their brief the judges have an opportunity to study the arguments and have a fair idea of the decision. The lawyers, when they appear in court, merely elaborate on their brief. Cases are speedily disposed of. Of course, when the cases are called, there is one continuous hearing. In civil cases, such hearings do not last more than a day.
In Guyana, people resort to the courts at the drop of a hat, sometimes with frivolous litigations. This does nothing to help clear the backlog. The limited number of judges also does not help the situation. The head of the Guyana Bar Association is on record as saying that many people, rather than trying to resolve matters on their own, often head to the courts.

One lawyer, who is also a Member of Parliament, feels that there should be 18 judges instead of the present 12. The Mediation Centre should offer some relief but this too has problems. Less people than expected use the Centre, apparently preferring to deal with a judge in court.
By now, many of the backlog cases are dead issues and should be struck off the books. In some cases people, frustrated by the delay in the courts, resolved their matter on their own. These should be struck off but they are there adding to the numbers, frightening numbers.

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The backlog in the courts

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