The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is taking the leading in integrating magistrates in the OECS states into the administrative and judicial structures of the Supreme Court.
The move is being made for the more efficient and effective administration of justice and to attain a greater level of judicial independence and accountability in the magistracies, both in perception and in reality.
The announcement was made by acting Chief Justice of the ECSC, Brian Alleyne, in a message on the 40th anniversary of the ECSC.
He noted that more than 90% of all legal disputes in the OECS are dealt with by magistrates and he said that the system must deliver impartial justice in a timely fashion, if the public is to continue to have confidence in the judicial process and not resort to some form of “self help justice.”
Alleyne added that “the average citizen is impacted by the work of the magistracy to a far greater extent than by the functioning of the ‘higher’ judiciary, and we see it as our responsibility to ensure that judicial services are delivered to our citizenry in an impartial, efficient, effective and timely manner by competent judicial officers and institutions at all levels of the judicial system.”
The ECSC has jurisdiction over nine states and territories, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The acting Chief Justice spoke of plans for reforming the judicial system in the sub region and said that the allocation of judicial resources between civil and criminal litigation, as well as the number of judges on the court in general and the number assigned to the various states and territories will be reviewed.
He said attention is being focused on the establishment of a Civil Division and a Family Division.
A Commercial Division of the court will be established in the British Virgin Islands and discussions are now underway between court officials, and the government of the BVI, but the acting Chief Justice made it quite clear that the other jurisdictions in the OECS will also benefit from the Commercial Court.
On the criminal side, Alleyne said a pilot project is now being undertaken in St Lucia to impact significantly on the speed and efficiency with which criminal matters can be processed.
The ECSC is now celebrating its 40th anniversary with planned programmes in all nine member states/territories.