From October 18-20, in Needham’s Point, Bridgetown Barbados, the 7th CCJ Academy Biennial Conference, convened under the theme ‘Criminal Justice Reform in the Caribbean: Achieving a Modern Criminal Justice System.’
The aim of the conference was to address the inefficiencies of the legal system in the region.
With this in mind, various luminaries and stakeholders from the region and beyond crafted a declaration outlining the commitment to improving the system, including best practices and recommended actions.
In his opening speech, the Honourable Mr Dale Marshall, Barbados’ attorney general, highlighted the deficiencies of the system as is, in context of economic and social realities of small island developing nations. He therefore urged his contemporaries to view these issues with a broader understanding: that of competition for limited resources.
Chairman of the Academy and CCJ Judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Anderson also spoke at the event, highlighting the need for the conference, stating, “an alarming epidemic of crime and criminality has engulfed much of the Caribbean…At the same time, persons accused of crime are sometimes deprived of their freedom for 5, 10, 15 or more years, (euphemistically referred to as “being on remand”), before they are tried. These and other features of our criminal justice system are not acceptable.”
During the three-day program, several areas in the field were addressed including, but not limited to, sentencing, judge-alone trials, evidence-gathering, the hearsay rule, anti-gang legislation, victims’ rights and plea-bargaining, and the effect of crime on development.
Some specific recommendations of the declaration included the establishment of Public Defender Offices throughout the Caribbean Community, the creation of a new category of judicial officers for handling pre-trial matters; enhanced protection and status for Magistrates to be titled “Summary Judges”.
There was a joint recognition of the need for trials to be held within one year (but not more than two to three years) of the accused being charged; judgments to be delivered within not more than six months and enhanced capability and use of forensic science centres in the region.
Additionally, there was a call for the establishment of a Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund partly financed by proceeds from the civil and criminal assets forfeiture.
The Declaration will be published on the CCJ’s website, www.ccj.org
I will say it again Jonathan is a university graduate,but he is too stupid to be smart.I have heard it over and over again,there are educated people who are aholes.UWP,since 2005 has always been saying,without evidence the elections in Dominica is stolen.The CCJ was responding to a report by UWP,that IF,you are deliberately leaving out IF,so you are very dishonest and your mother must be turning in her grave.After every election the election observers have always said the election conducted in Dominica was free and fair and reflected the will of the Dominican people.You as dishonest as you are never mentioned the observers report.You also refuse to mention,in the 2019 election UWP was so unpopular the lost 1,163.You supported the lie that DLP paid between 8,000 and 13,000 overseas voters to vote in Dominica,evidence show DLP only got 222 more votes in 2019 than in 2014.It is for those fake news and deliberate lies,that UWP will never win an election in Dominica.
I’m against the Ccj as the highest court because of so many reasons. Bias from judges due to political influence…thag happens in a small society. Secondly, the humanitarian principle that is lacking in our legal system. Specifically remand times. I could go on and on about reasons why we should not remove the privy council as our last court of appeals but dominica is unfortunately already subscribed to the Ccj.
These guys should be ashamed of themselves for allowing the state of law and order in the region to sink to it’s lowest depths evidenced by the amount of crime and lawlessness happening in all nodes of the CCJ. Some have allowed criminals to become emboldened because many cases are discontinued. Some have sold their souls to the corrupt regimes in power. It reached a point where one justice in the CCJ had to write an addendum to a ruling that elections in Dominica must never again be conducted in such a disregard for the constitution and the rule of law yet no penalties were put forward. These proud law practitioners must consider that regarding election matters which come before the courts must be heard expidiously so that the issues can be adjudicated on speedily before the next government is sworn in and their rulling be respected. The CCJ is still in its infancy and they have disappointed mightily, so they must step up to the plate and stem the tide of poor governance.
Most members of CARICOM have vehemently refused to make the CCJ their final court of appeal. There have to be legitimate reasons for this stubborn resistance.
It’s sad. However, because of the lack of confidence in our local and regional judges to be impartial, real or imagined, the people of the Caribbean mostly want their leaders to give the CCJ the cold shoulder.