The Supreme Court of Judicature two Mondays ago unveiled an additional wing for the Guyana Court of Appeal in Kingston.
The new wing boasts many technological advancements and an additional courtroom. The court which once housed only five judges now has the capacity to accommodate nine in keeping with recent legislation.
Speaking at the opening, Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George said the court is on a path of technological modernization, with the introduction of the electronic litigation system built by the Singaporean software company Crimson Logic in January of this year, which now sees the filing of all appeals electronically and is being tested in the High Court with an expected soft launch by the end of this year.
Justice George said the expansion has been on the radar of the Chancellor, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards for quite some time. The new wing of the building now has the capacity to hold virtual hearings, recording systems and can readily produce transcripts of court proceedings. It also boasts a gym and two libraries.
Justice Cummings-Edwards said this new development and all future developments within the courts will see that citizens receive improved access to justice and better and efficient court services.
She said that the Ministry of Public Works was crucial in having the works completed and extended thanks to the Minister for his help in having works done in a timely manner.
She noted that “the engineer’s revised estimate gave us a value of $170,575,731 dollars. The initial contract sum that was awarded by the tender board was $124,120,950 and the engineer’s fee and designer supervision and reimbursable totalled $12,765,887.
“We now have the provision of adequate spaces for judges for staff and for all court users”, she said. The new three-storey building features administrative spaces, offices and six judges chambers along with a Judicial Service Commission secretariat with a robing room for lawyers, a library and a judges assembly room.
“The upper level consists of the judge’s chambers, a lounge so that when our guests come they can be comfortably seated and admin spaces”. She said the building is going to be completed with an elevator shaft to accommodate differently-abled persons.
Edwards thanked Central Government particularly the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General for standing with the judiciary and ensuring the necessary funding was available for the new edifice.
