Night Court begins on Monday

Oct 06, 2016 News

Night Court at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court is set to begin on Monday October 10, 2016. The evening sittings are scheduled to last from 15:00 hrs to 20:00 hrs daily. The daily sitting of the court however, will continue from 9:00 hrs to 14:30 hrs.
The idea for the night court was amplified after the March 3, 2013 prison unrest at the Georgetown Prison at Camp and D’Urban Streets where 17 inmates, most of whom were on remand, lost their lives.
Out of a Commission of Inquiry into the unrest, one of the solutions highlighted was for Government to undertake initiatives to reduce the quantum of backlogged cases. The night court is expected to improve the rate at which cases are heard in the Magistracy.
A high level meeting between representatives of government and the judiciary was held and it was announced that night courts will be established.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan; and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams.
Representing the judiciary were Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Carl Singh, Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack and Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
It was suggested that during the initial stages of the initiative, the temporary magistrates employed would be qualified attorneys-at-law to serve with the already sitting magistrates.
A total of $25M was secured by government to finance the payment of salaries of the temporary magistrates and ancillary staff. President David Granger had communicated his favourable assurance towards establishing the courts through Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
For many years, the issue of backlogged cases was found to be responsible for this high prison population which resulted in the overcrowding of the penal system.
After the COI into the riot was completed, it was revealed that 60 per cent of inmates were on remand. Of that amount, 50 per cent had been awaiting trial for more than three years and a further 30 per cent for more than four years.
The report said that these figures and the lack of effective – or even ineffective action to remedy them pointed to serious dysfunction in the administration of justice.
It was highlighted that delayed trials contributed significantly to the overcrowding.
Also, failures on the part of agencies of the state had attributed to the state of the prison. These include the judiciary, Magistracy, Probation Service, the Parole Board, Prison Visiting Committees and the Ministry of Public Health.

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