Members of the public are advised that the Registration Department and Supreme Court will remain closed for the remainder of this week, and reopen next week at new temporary locations.
This is to facilitate a general cleaning of the Supreme Court Complex on White Park Road, St Michael, following environmental concerns raised by staff at the institution.
Registrar of the Supreme Court, Barbara Cooke-Alleyne, announced today that on-going criminal matters in Criminal Courts 2 & 5 will continue at the White Park Road, St Michael facility for the remainder of this week, while the Registration and other departments will remain closed.
In addition, matters before the Master of the High Court, Deborah Holder, will be heard on Wednesday, April 18, and Friday, April 20, at the Supreme Court Complex while Civil matters before Justice Sonia Richards will be heard on Thursday, April 19, and Friday, April 20, also at the Complex.
From Monday, April 23, those applying for birth, death and other certificates should do so at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Wildey, St Michael. “We will ensure that our applications for birth certificates and deaths and so on are still being continued because that is very vital to every person’s life in Barbados,” the Registrar told members of the media.
She added that Criminal Courts 2 & 5 will sit at the new Municipal Complex at Cane Garden, St Thomas from Monday, April 23, while the Civil Court and Court of Appeal will sit at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC).
Meanwhile, juvenile matters will be held at the District “A” Magistrates’ Court, while the Coroner’s Office will be hosted at the LESC.
Cooke-Alleyne explained these temporary changes will be in effect for approximately two to three weeks, after which the entire complex is expected to be temporarily housed in the CLICO Building next door to the Supreme Court.
Noting that she could not give an exact time frame for the dislocation, the Registrar said they were doing their best to ensure that new dates were set for matters affected by the closures.
However, she noted that talks held today with Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, members of the Bar Association and the National Union of Public Workers were cordial. (BGIS)
