Chief Justice Bryan Sykes is describing as ‘unacceptably high’ the level of adjournments in the nation’s Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice was speaking at the Swearing-in of Judges of Appeal, Puisne Judges and Masters-In-Chambers this morning at Kings House.
The Chief Justice disclosed that the Supreme Court has not been performing at the standard required.
Despite improvements in the handing down of judgments in 2019, Chief Justice Sykes says the ‘adjournment culture’ continues to create other challenges in the Supreme Court.
He says continuous adjournments will only result in major backlogs, where cases take years to go to trial.
The Chief Justice cited, that while there may be calls for more judges, other countries like Singapore have been performing well with far less persons.
He says like Singapore, it’s critical for Judges to insist that matters are heard on the day set for the hearing.
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, speaking during the Swearing-in of Judges of Appeal, Puisne Judges, and Masters-In-Chambers at Kings House this morning.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Sykes revealed that the nation’s lower court is on track to becoming one of the best in the world, with a current 88% disposal rate for criminal cases within a two year period.
He says this disposal rate means the parish courts could become backlog-free in about 3 years.
Chief Justice Sykes also says there’s been a less than 2% backlog in cases since 2016.
He says this means the improved disposal rate could soon make the lower courts one of the best globally.
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.
