Even with the best will in the world, the current complement of judges and magistrates cannot eliminate the backlog of cases in the judicial system, which stands at around 13,000, Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Carl Singh has said.
In an interview with Stabroek News last week, Justice Singh that there is need for an assessment of what constitutes the backlog and for a methodology to be devised for dealing with it. Even if new appointments are made, he said, he is convinced that the impact would only be a reduction of the backlog, and according to him the courts need to aim for elimination not reduction.
Although a plan has been identified to tackle the backlog as part of broader strategic reforms identified in the system under a new US$25 million IDB programme he emphasized the importance of an evaluation in addressing the issue, and pointed out that availability of judicial resources could pose a problem if a study is to be conducted.
Courtroom management is a critical area to consider when addressing the backlog, the Chancellor said, adding that the lax approach by judges in granting adjournments as soon as they are requested has contributed to delays in a significant way. He said judges need to recognize that they are responsible for what takes place in their courts, and that it is entirely within their control to resist frequent applications for adjournments.
He explained that the judge who grants an adjournment and has some free time as result, is still faced with the case when it comes up on the adjourned date. “So all it does is result in the deferral of what should have been done on a particular date and that is how the accumulation of adjourned cases is creating the backlog,” he added.
Currently there are also a fair number of appeals sitting at the Appeal Court, but there is a shortage of personnel to collate the records and judges are saddled with the added responsibility. Justice Singh said bluntly that nothing is being done to address the issue. He referred to it as a disastrous situation since the judges themselves have to take the initiative of getting records of appeal collated so that they can proceed to hearing cases.
“When we eliminate the backlog, we can then speak of being efficient and effective but this is going to be considered in a very detailed way under the new reform project and all of the changes that are proposed within the project will be effected within the four-year period,” he stated.
He said that mediation is doing much better today than when it started, but admitted that it has been slow. There is still a lot of resistance to the process, particularly by lawyers, but according to him, they are going to address this in the new rules of court which should be in place in the coming months. He said the fact that mediation is available to the litigating public is well known, adding that there had been several programmes on mediation with tremendous support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Modernization of Justice Administra-tion System Programme which was recently launched focuses on reducing the backlog of cases; strengthening the Judicial Service Commission; enhancing the skills and productivity of judges; High Court administration; rehabilitation and physical improvement of court rooms and improvement to civil and criminal law procedures among other areas.
With regard to the delivery of judgements, which the President recently criticized while berating the JSC for not fulfilling its watchdog role in this regard, the Chancellor said there was no fixed period for delivering them, but pointed out that it should be as quickly as possible.
He is not keen on the idea of setting timelines for judgements in the sense that there should be written rules, but he is of the opinion that it that may be necessary if judges as responsible officers of the court do not render judgments within a reasonable time.
Justice Singh said that both he and Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang could only appeal to the judges to have a more diligent approach. According to him, it is open to the JSC to treat persistent failure to deliver judgments as a disciplinary matter.
He conceded that cases do take a long time in the system, but was optimistic that this would be addressed in a number of measures that are going to unfold as the judiciary is restructured, particularly with respect to how the court functions.
“We have a significant first in the establishment of the commercial court which I believe illustrates the fact that the court can deliver in a timely way. The commercial court was a resounding success and we are in the process of working on another specialized court,” he stated.
It is expected that a Family Court would be initiated since Cabinet has already given the green light for the project. Chancellor said the establishment of a Constitutional and Administrative Law court is still under consideration. He noted that if the specialized courts are set up then there is a greater focus on the key areas of litigation. But he said that there can only be successes if the judges demonstrate the commitment to making it work.
“You can put rules in place, you can install computers, you can put everything in place but if the judges do not demonstrate the required aptitude, commitment and dedication it will fail,” he said.
Financial autonomy
Chancellor Singh said the ability of the judiciary to manage its financial affairs is a key aspect of judicial independence noting that the new reform project targets this. Currently the Supreme Court submits a budget proposal to the Ministry of Finance and funds are approved for the judiciary to spend in accordance with the proposal.
He said the budget is chopped and that it does not always get what it asks for, but this year the government made the funds directly available to the judiciary; a significant first step according to him.
“This has never happened before so it is a significant first step but it doesn’t lend itself to complete financial autonomy. The point has to be made though that if we are going to manage our approved financial resources then we must have impeccable standards of accountability.”