Court leadership to be trained to sustain reduction in case backlog

 

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes says training programmes will be conducted for the leadership core of the courts to sustain the gains made in reducing backlog in Jamaica's parish courts. 

 

Justice Sykes says significant efforts were made to implement a strategic plan to clear the backlog, but he says the judicial system will not be comforted as those achievements can easily be reversed. 

 

"To sustain that, we now have to move to institutionalising what we learnt between 2019 and now. So in another two weeks, we are to commence dialogue now on establishing a training programme. So the senior judges of the parish courts, the chief justices, president of the Court of Appeal, registrars and so on will now have to properly trained to continue and build up on the gains that we made because it is not unknown - it has happened in the United States - that courts have come out of backlog and everybody was there congratulating themselves that they have done so well, and then the courts get back in backlog. It is known to happen," he cautioned.  

 

Justice Sykes was speaking at the 50th anniversary banquet of the Lions Club of St. Thomas at Whispering Bamboo Cove Hotel on Sunday.