Find ways to reduce the pressure on the “small quota” of judges- Justice Bernard

Feb 22, 2014 News

Guyana’s first and only female Chancellor of the Judiciary, Madame Justice Desiree Bernard has noted with concern the number of sitting judges in the High Court.
Justice Bernard who happens to be the first female judge to serve on the Caribbean Court of Justice said that ways must be found to reduce the pressure on the very small quota of judges.

Madame Justice Desiree Bernard as she entered court on Wednesday morning.

Justice Bernard was at the time speaking to the special sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice which was held on Wednesday to honour her retirement from the CCJ.
According to Justice Bernard this has to be done if the judicial system is to achieve its objective in Guyana. It was noted that due to the limited amount of judges there has been an increase in litigations and a decrease in the completion of cases.
Justice Bernard said that the request for the increase in the judicial party in the High Court has been one that has been lingering for 10 to 12 years.
According to her, Guyana’s sitting Chancellor should be applauded for reducing the huge backlog of cases and “performing miracles” with the limited number of judges at his disposal.
Bernard said that it’s never easy to persuade lawyers who crave their lucrative practice for prestigious judicial offers with reduced emoluments.
Chancellor Justice Carl Singh had said last year that the performance of judges in the High Court is ‘awfully inadequate’. He said that the hallmark of an efficient and effective judicial system is timely delivery of decisions by judges.
The Chancellor expressed disappointment over the slothfulness at which High Court Judges are conducting matters.