Government Information Service

by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service

A number of changes have been announced by Attorney General, Hon. Francine Baron-Royer, as she addressed a ceremony on the 15th of September, 2009, at the Parliament Building to mark the opening of the Law Term 2009/2010. Among those changes is the posting of a second Resident Judge to Dominica and the construction of a new High Court in Dominica.

According to the Attorney General, the posting of a second judge to Dominica is very timely. This arrangement has been made to deal primarily with hearing and disposing of the caveat cases which were languishing in the system for very long periods.

“The Hon. Prime Minister being sensitive to the needs of the justice system and recognising the limitations under which it was operating and the importance of having an efficient court system, made a request of the Chief Justice for a second Judge to be assigned to Dominica. The Chief Justice responded to that call and as of the 25th of October, 2009, Justice Birnie Stephenson Brooks will be taking up residence in Dominica as the second resident Judge. This has been long awaited and will make a significant difference in the speed with which matters are dealt with.”

In the meanwhile, the Attorney General strongly advised members of the legal profession to rethink how they conduct business in the court. She urged them to reconsider their current form of single practice as there will be need to re-strategise to expedite matters at court and explained why.

“I would like to sound a note of caution to our lawyers. Things as we know it are going to have to change. There will be two High Courts in operation; therefore, matters will be heard more quickly. The time perhaps has come for you to consider going into partnerships with others. This may well herald the disappearance of one person Chambers. I do not think that the Courts will tolerate for very long requests for adjournments because you have a matter in the other High Court. You will need to organise yourself appropriately.”

Part of the changes aims at addressing complaints and deficiencies that has been identified in administering justice. This specifically speaks to the length of time that indictable matters take. Most times, they go through a preliminary hearing in the Magistrate’s Court which may take years because of the backlog there, before it can be heard in the High Court. However, the Criminal Division of the Court is designed to reduce the length of time for these matters to be heard. As a result, rather than have witnesses attend Court nine (9) or ten (10) times while they wait to give evidence before the Magistrate, these matters will now be dealt with primarily on documentary evidence and the witness may only need to attend once before a Judge when a sufficiency hearing is conducted to determine whether there is a case to be tried in the High Court.

Another aspect to be addressed is the implementation of Criminal Division of the Court in Dominica with a view to having the Criminal Division of the Court established next year. It is hoped that this will result in a quicker disposal of matters, less time being spent on remand, a reduction in the workload of the magistrate’s court and therefore increased efficiency.

In addition to having a The Criminal Division of the court implemented, efforts are being made to have Legal Profession Act implemented in all the jurisdictions of Court in Dominica with a view to address the need for regulation and discipline among legal practitioners in Dominica. According to the Attorney General, she’s working feverishly to see that it is passed very soon.

“It is my intention barring unforeseen circumstances to have the Legal Profession Bill brought to Parliament for enactment early next year.”

The downstairs of the Baracoon Building in Roseau is being refurbished to house a second high court. It is expected to be completed by mid November. In the meanwhile, the House of Assembly building will be used in the interim.

In related news, plans are well on the way to construct a House of Justice in Dominica. According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Tourism, Mrs. Esther James-Thomas, the property has already been purchased. At the moment, a feasibility study is being conducted, funded by the Caribbean Development Bank and executed by the East Caribbean Court of Appeal, headquartered in St. Lucia. On the local end, mechanisms have been put in place including a national working committee spearheaded by the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Tourism.

The site which now houses the Dominica Club will, in the next two years, be transformed into the House of Justice which will house all the necessary courts including civil, criminal, magistrate and family courts, the registry and all offices administering justice in the city of Roseau with the exception of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution.