COMMON SENSE NEEDED TO SPEED-UP TRIALS

Nov 06, 2015 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Common sense is not so common in Guyana anymore because the leaders seem not to know what to do, how to lead or how to solve problems. Leadership is all about accepting responsibility and finding solutions to problems and not passing the buck. Leadership should not only be about power or status or the creation of personal wealth, but about improving the quality of life for all Guyanese to a decent and acceptable level. For decades, many problems in Guyana have gone unsolved for no apparent reason, and the powers that be have not yet found a solution. One such problem exists in the justice system which is fractured and needs to be fixed urgently if justice is to prevail. The people are not getting their money’s worth from the judiciary because of the slow pace of trials and the short work days of the justices. The judiciary is one of the three co-equal branches of the government. It is not beholden to the executive or the legislative. It is comprised of the Chancellor, Chief Justice, judges and magistrates. Its primary role is to interpret the law based on the Constitution and try cases.
However, the justice system is riddled with problems as most Judges and magistrates do not work a full eight hour-day. A day’s work for most magistrates and judges begins at 10:00 AM and ends at 3:00 PM and if luck prevails, at 4:00 PM which means that one eight-hour day of work by the average worker is equal to two days of work by the adjudicators. And the excuse that it takes time to write up their notes is lame in this age of technology, where every single sound can be captured by appropriate equipment.
Too many cases are being postponed at an enormous cost to the litigants, some of whom have been incarcerated for five years or more without a trial, while others have died waiting for their case to be heard, and it takes ten or more years before a civil case is heard. It is unfortunate that such abuse of the system continues in the 21st century. What has happened to the idea of night courts and the use of technology to video-conference court proceedings from the prisons so as to prevent lateness, absence or even transportation costs?
The truth is, the judiciary is close to becoming the laughing stock of the Caribbean. If the frequent criticisms of the system are to be taken seriously, then an urgent overhaul of the court process is required to expedite the adjudication of cases. Some recent decisions in cases such as to the alleged illegal appointment of the town clerk and the dismissal of rape charges against the former Commissioner of Police are laughable.
Some common sense solutions to the management of the justice system are needed to reduce the backlog of cases. The population has become frustrated with the long delay of cases and wanted changes which do not require special laws or new buildings. While the backlog of cases is increasing, justice continues to move at a snail’s pace and those incarcerated for minor offences are placed in an overcrowded prison system.
As the head of the judiciary, the Chancellor should make changes to the system and thus ease the frustrations of the people. During the election campaign, the APNU+AFC coalition had promised to appoint more judges and magistrates in order to reduce the backlog of cases, but almost six months in office, that promise has fallen to the wayside. And the number of backlog cases continue to increase due to the upsurge in crime.
The justice system is overloaded with additional new cases on a daily basis and there are not enough court rooms to accommodate more justices and magistrates. However, the resources and institutions already in place could reduce the backlog of cases, but only if the judges and magistrates work longer hours. But it will take common sense to do it.

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COMMON SENSE NEEDED TO SPEED-UP TRIALS

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