One of the many societal issues confronting our ostensibly beloved island nation is its near dysfunctional criminal justice system, an issue that has been overshadowed by myriad systemic problems, among them our crime rate, our blind-folded education sector, and youth unemployment. Exacerbating the situation is our court system, bogged down as it is by a backlog of cases numbering in the thousands.
As is now a well-established local ritual, many have chosen to point accusatory fingers at the government, regardless of the party in office. It was no different at Monday’s opening of the Law Year 2020, where everything wrong about the justice mechanism was attributed to a lack, even an absence, of adequate resources.
The recently elected President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association offered a fresh perspective. Touching on the day’s theme, ‘Court Excellence’, Renee St. Rose pointed out what suddenly became obvious. “As officers of the court,” she said, “we need to ensure its resources and the administration of justice are adequate. That means our facilities, our staff, our lawyers, our judges, and our IT departments are up to date. There must be continuous assessment and continuous professional development.”
Her riveted attendant colleagues nodded approvingly as Ms St. Rose went on: “We need to critically examine the experience of a court user, a litigant, in our judicial system. I propose that we all take a step back and evaluate that experience to determine how best we can achieve court excellence. The average court user presently takes a day off from work to attend a court hearing. That means no income for the day, no tips or benefits, and one day less in prescribed vacation days.”
Additionally: “The court user too often must sit on uncomfortable chairs, or wait outside in the sun or rain for hours for their case to be called. He or she has no other choice; the available space in the court building is grossly inadequate. There is no indication of when a matter will be called. The litigant cannot risk stepping out for a meal, or even a visit to the washroom, for fear their matter might be called in their absence.”
The all too familiar horror story continued: “When their matter is eventually called, it is too often adjourned. Or the user sits in the courtroom with no idea what is happening. In many instances,” said St. Rose, “all it would have taken was for a case manager to telephone lawyers to manage the case and determine its readiness for the hearing, to ensure adequate time slots are given for court hearings and communicated to the lawyers and the litigant.”
Those who may have imagined the Bar Association president had fingered all the hot buttons were soon thinking again as St. Rose blew away another defence: “The excuse that there are too many matters on the cause list is unacceptable. Every case and every matter is deserving of time and matter management to take the court user into consideration.”
She also pointed out just how impossible it is to hear dozens of trials a day in criminal court. “There is no reason why in 2020 the court should schedule 30 cases at 9:00 a.m. where we all stand around waiting for our matters to be called. We need dedicated case managers to work with the judges and litigants for adequate scheduling of matters. Time is arguably our most precious resource. And achieving court excellence lies in the consideration of the public, our lawyers and the court user in the scheduling of our cases.”
