Over three million dollars has been injected into the relocation of the Supreme Court Registry, High Court and Registry of Lands, which is now located on the top floor of the post office building on the Bayfront.
Speaking during a media walkthrough of the new retrofitted building, Minister for National Security and Home Affairs, Rayburn Blackmoore, revealed that in addition to the $3, 560,095.25 spent for the two floors, an additional $447,000 also went into the furnishing and securing of the building.
According to the minister, the last time the registry was moved to a new location was in the 1970s. He labelled the relocation as historic and said it is a significant march towards “making Dominica a dynamic country”.
The minister stressed the importance of the public having proper access to the court, and said, “a court that is not properly suited for such an operation cannot guarantee proper access to justice and that’s precisely what [we’re] doing.“
“And your government is purposefully looking at the holistic approach as to how we can make the civil registry better and that is why we are looking at the possibility of creating an Office of Chief Registrar and the holder of that office will have oversight over its various sub-registries,” he said.
Acting Registrar General and Registrar of the High Court, Marie-Therese Etienne, revealed that the new home to the Supreme Court and the Registry Division is equipped with two civil courts as well as a grand criminal court.
Other amenities at the location include several other spaces ancillary to the court and to the other departments such as a first-of-its-kind prisoners’ cell, three judge’s chambers, a robing and meditation room, a spacious waiting area for the public, a new register chambers and a dedicated department for the probates and deed section.
For her part, Acting Registrar of Titles, Vincia Auguiste-Francois, indicated that the new Land Title Registry Division now operating on the second floor of the post office, is fitted with several new offices within a larger space.
“The public now has a bigger waiting area, as well as working areas. These working spaces are to facilitate presentation of documents and to allow solicitors to work on your pending and out of order files,” she said. “The Registry’s new office is designed to accommodate the surveyors in an area where for the first time, they can conduct their own searches as well as to conduct their jobs.”
Blackmoore said the government has made a request for an award of contract for the restoration of a section of the roof of the building which previously housed the Registry and Supreme Court.
According to the Minister all the operations of the magistrate court will be moved to one location and special attention will be given to a specific court to deal with family matters.
It is. See previous article on media tour of the building.
The building should have been equipped with an elevator, especially to facilitate the elderly and physically challenged.
Perhaps now they can spend some money on the post office. We need to have the postal air mail service reinstalled. There has been no air mail postal service since Liat went bust.
Believe me, this inept DLP cabal lacks vision and therefore that simple problem has eluded them for years now. An infant school (like we would say) child could solve this in a New York minute. But ALAS, that’s the Dominica that Loveeeeeeeeees their ALLEGED thieving leaders.
Just don’t lose my title is all I telling all you!