The people of Anguilla and other islands served by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court are to see a re-structuring of the Magistrates’ Courts, according to Acting Chief Justice, Adrian Saunders.

The top jurist made the disclosure while delivering a simultaneous address by video conferencing at the opening of the new law year in the member territories on September 17.

He said that in the past the reform programme had focused on civil procedure in the High Court, introducing appropriate technology and improving the appointments process and the caliber of judicial officers. He pointed out that there was now a need to pay greater attention to the Magistrates’ Courts.
Mr. Saunders went on as follows:

“The Magistracy falls within the judiciary’s jurisprudential authority, but they are not included within the judiciary’s administrative chain of command. They are half-in and half-out. This anomaly fragments and weakens not only the Magistrates’ Courts, but also the entire judicial branch of government. The Magistrates feel isolated, estranged, deprived of the collegiality and sense of involvement that comes from being part of a wider judiciary. Magistrates’ Courts are an essential part of the judicial organization. They carry the brunt of the case load and public trust and confidence in the administration of justice depends largely on how they function.

“Our goal now is to streamline the trial courts by merging the administrative support of the Magistrate’s Courts and the High Court and to create specialised court divisions by organizing the court into divisions: a civil division, including a small claims part; a criminal division to deal with all summary and indictable matters, including a traffic part; and a family division which will also deal with criminal charges against juveniles.

“The Government of Saint Lucia has agreed to be the site for the model of the criminal division. This is a model that we intend to replicate with appropriate adjustments in the other territories. We hope that models for the other divisions can be implemented in quick succession in suitable member states.

“In every case, each division is to be managed by a presiding judge with the assistance of a division manager. All would be under the central management authority of a managing judge who will report to the Chief Justice and a trial court administrator who will report to the Supreme Court Administrator. The plan not only calls for a streamlined administrative structure and clear lines of management authority but also the implementation of new case management systems and procedures, the application of modern technology, job redesign and staff reorganization. Together, we are confident that these new approaches will improve the administration of justice.

“The broad outlines of the initiative have received the approval of the OECS Heads of Government and we take this opportunity to show our appreciation for the supportive role of the various Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers in the court’s reform programme. At every step of the way, the Governments have encouraged, stimulated and supported the court’s reform initiatives. We also wish to express special thanks to our indefatigable, internationally renowned consultant, Mr. Robert Lipscher, who has been the lead consultant on court-restructuring.

“It is no accident that the first division we have sought to organize is the criminal division. In many of our territories, the criminal justice system is in dire need of reform. In those territories there are considerable delays and backlogs. The remand population is too high. The victims of crime and witnesses are dissatisfied with the slow pace of criminal justice. Many of them lose their faith in the system. No special measures are in place to quickly address crimes where there are victims and witnesses who happen to be visitors to our shores. The judiciary must except that it has a vital role to play in improving this situation and we must move quickly to arrest the problems.”

The Acting Chief Justice who spoke on other matters, already reported in this newspaper, concluded his address as follows:

“Our Mission Statement is ‘the delivery of justice independently, by competent officers, in a prompt, fair efficient and effective manner’. It is to that end that we aspire. I trust that over the next year we will continue striding forward to that goal so that this time next year we can look back with pride on tasks accomplished and with renewed confidence, set ourselves new and more challenging tasks.”

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