Government moved a step further in its bid to modernise Barbados’ criminal justice system with the passage of the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2026 in the House of Assembly on Tuesday.
Piloting the legislation, Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley said it represented a “total reform of key aspects of criminal prosecution and created a more modern and just criminal justice system.”
The legislation also provides for the use of transcripts of electronicallyrecorded evidence in court. Lashley further explained that the legislation “deletes sections of the Criminal Procedure Act which affects the right of the jury to determine the fitness of an accused to plead and the circumstances in which the defence of diminished responsibility and insanity may be determined.
The former criminal defence attorney also told the House in outlining the details of the Bill, “We are amending the Evidence Act Cap 121 of the laws of Barbados and deleting Section 6 and 7A of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Fairness
“The object of the amendments is to ensure that criminal trials are placed on a safer footing . . . on a footing of fairness and a footing that will create some sense of efficiency in respect of criminal trials.”
The move according to the MP for the City of Bridgetown who has had a distinguished career at the criminal bar, was in response to an effort by the Caribbean Court of Justice through a 2023 conference on Criminal Justice Reform, to achieve a modern criminal justice system throughout the member states.
Among the provisions, the Bill abolishes the right of an accused person to give unsworn evidence in criminal proceedings. Lashley noted several other Caribbean jurisdictions had already abolished unsworn statements and pointed out Barbados was not therefore the only jurisdiction in the Caribbean seeking to do so.
Lashley said the effect of the amendment in relation to unsworn statements “places the accused giving evidence on the same footing as any other witnesses in the matter” and contended it promotes greater accountability.
“There is nothing to fear … nobody’s rights have been taken away, there is nothing where one party is favoured over another. All the witnesses are placed on the same footing.
“The Bill to my mind constitutes a total reform of key aspects of criminal procedures,” Lashley said. (GC)