Justice Minister concerned about corruption in court system

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has again lamented the state of corruption within the court system.

At Saturday’s graduation ceremony at the Norman Manley Law School, Mr. Chuck noted that with the backlog of cases before the courts, some clients, police personnel and lawyers have become frustrated and often take justice into their own hands.

These practices he said have fuelled corruption in the system. Citing the challenges, the Justice Minister appealed to those entering the profession not to succumb to corruption.

 He implored that the only way for them to combat the problem was to maintain honesty and integrity.

He also added that if corruption cannot be removed from the justice system, then it is unlikely that it can be removed from other areas of the society. 

The Justice Minister also highlighted the need for judges to do more to help tackle the problem of corruption.

He said the Government understands that it has a role to play in all of this, but said it is the responsibility of everyone to improve the quality of justice.

Meanwhile, Minister Chuck said the government is in the process of preparing a new arbitration legislation which will formalise the use of the system in Jamaica.

He said this is necessary as mediation will play a key role in reducing the backlog of cases currently before the courts.

Last year there were almost 460,000 cases before the Courts, with over half being in a state of backlog.

 Mr. Chuck said this has been the case for at least a decade.

 He said the process has already begun as the Dispute Resolution Foundation, DRF, is actively engaged in Mediation, and civil matters from the Supreme Court are referred for mediation.

He urged the new attorneys to get involved in mediation pointing out that it is a win- win situation and everyone moves on with their lives without being weighed down by cases languishing for years in the courts.