MAGISTRATES’ COURTS may soon be in a position to take some of the case load away from the Supreme Court.
Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite announced yesterday in Parliament during the Estimates Debate that the powers of the lower courts were to be increased to allow them to move from fines of $10 000 to $50 000.
“It would take some of the small matters from the High Court,” Brathwaite said, as he acknowledged there was still an issue regarding the backlog of cases in the Supreme Court.
However, he said Barbados was not the only Caribbean country dealing with this situation.
“Every time the CCJ [Caribbean Court of Justice] makes a comment about Barbados, you hear how slow and inefficient the system is,” he said, pointing out that there were cases even in Trinidad that had been in the system for many years.
Brathwaite, who is also Minister of Home Affairs, was giving an update on some of the departments under his charge. He said that law and order was taken so seriously by Government that there had been no cuts given to the departments dealing with it.
Continuing with the courts, he said that a practice direction in respect of plea bargaining would be given by the end of April. This, he added, was another tool to reduce the backlog.
He also revealed that the legislation governing the Police Complaints Authority would be amended to give that body “more teeth” to investigate police officers. (MB)
