(Trinidad Guardian) Chief Justice Ivor Archie says inadequate staffing, resources, poor payment packages for judges and funding continue to impede operations within the judicial system.
He made the comment during the opening of the 2024-2025 Law Term at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port-of-Spain.
While this was a repeat of concerns raised during previous occasions, Archie was also quick to set the tone.
“This is not about pointing fingers, but neither is living in denial. What we will not do in the judiciary is accept licks for things that are outside of our control,” the CJ said.
Archie contended that contrary to public utterances suggesting the judiciary was in receipt of significant sums of money, the independent body has had to navigate complex operations with 1.07 per cent of the national budget, with judicial officers being forced to operate under significant pressure.
“Much is said about delays in the judiciary and people presume that people in the judiciary, those judges, need to work harder. Nothing is further from the truth. We have the largest caseload in the region despite not being the most populous in the jurisdiction. The judges and staff in the judiciary work hard and long,” he said.
The Chief Justice lamented that since 2020, judicial officials across various departments have been serving dual roles in the absence of approvals for staff.
“The judiciary is also faced with a high staff turnover, including judicial officers whose quality is more respected elsewhere and who are accepting superior compensation for less stressful work and far smaller workloads.”
Archie further contended that despite efforts to bridge the widening gaps in staffing, little headway has been made over the years. According to him, it is due largely, in part, to two Cabinet notes, one requesting the ability to recognise relevant experience for compensation purposes in standardised positions and the other, a rationalisation for jobs within the judiciary.
“The point I’m making is that if a simple policy decision that critically impacts us is taking two years, then it is not just the judiciary, it is the country that has a serious problem with the way things are run and we are caught in the web just like everybody else.”
Archie explained that the staffing shortfalls have threatened the closure and operations of courts, including the Princes Town Family Court.
“Included in this note is the request for staff establishment for the Princes Town Family Court which we established in July 2021. An original note for the staffing of the Princes Town Family Court was previously submitted in 2020 to facilitate its opening, we are now in 2024. When no staff was approved, we pulled staff from everywhere we could, asking them to double up thinking we would get the approval to hire staff in short order.
“This also did not materialise and consequently, I am now faced with the possible decision of shutting down the court since staff who generously sacrificed their time are buckling under the present load.”
The CJ also zeroed in on poor compensation packages which, he said, contributed to a drop in employee motivation. During his address, he took the Salaries Review Commission to task for this.
“After recommending increases for 93 per cent of offices under its purview, the SRC is now attempting to reduce the salaries of masters, which, get this, were fixed by parliament.”
Archie said there has been no consultation over the proposed move and was shocked that the SRC claimed judges’ salaries were appropriate over a decade after they were last adjusted.
“When a public agency takes the decision that it does not have to obey the law passed by parliament because a lawyer thinks it is unconstitutional, we in trouble.”
According to the 98th report of the Salaries Review Commission published in 2013, the recommendation for the base salary of the Master of the High Court is $32,700 a month. The starting salary for a deputy chief magistrate, registrar and marshal is 30,040 per month.
The Chief Justice said while there continue to be lingering challenges facing the judicial system, the proclamation of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act last year had played a role in providing resolutions to the backlog of cases.
“In the whole of 2023, 242 criminal matters were determined in the High court. For this first half of the year, 215 matters have been determined. Of these, 151 were matters that were already in the system, so we’re already ahead of last year’s tally.”
