Chief Justice Talks Criminal Case Management

Justice Minister, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding (left); and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Carol Palmer (right), engage Chief Justice, The  Hon. Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla, in discussion during the Justice Reform Implementation Unit’s (JRIU) first Criminal Case Management (CCM) stakeholders’ consultation at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on May 27.
Photo by: JIS Photographer

Chief Justice, The Hon. Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla in a recent presentation to members of the country’s legal fraternity, indicated that Criminal Case Management’s (CCM) implementation has worked well in other jurisdictions, and contended it can also work in Jamaica’s Courts. Mrs. McCalla was speaking at the first in a series of consultations staged by the Justice Reform Implementation Unit (JRIU) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on May 27, 2014. The meetings are designed to share the proposals put forward by the courts and their technical legal advisor with members of the legal fraternity. The proposals entail: Criminal Case Management improvements, informing lawyers on the justice reform process and its impact on the courts, facilitating feedback from the Jamaican Bar Association, which represents attorneys on criminal justice reform initiatives; as well as lawyers on necessary and relevant professional development strategies.

The Chief Justice, who has been a strong advocate of CCM, placed emphasis on the importance of and benefits to be derived from its full implementation in the courts. “Criminal cases coming before the courts have increased over the years. As a result, it is necessary to combine our (legal fraternity) efforts to address the challenges it poses in order to promote the interest of justice and inspire confidence in the system”, the Chief Justice said. She also highlighted the importance that judges played in the process of implementation through their proactive approach, while adding that better preparation by prosecution and defence attorneys is necessary to effectively deal with cases when they are brought before the courts. Justice McCalla also added that these steps would go a long way in helping to address the long standing issue of case backlog in the justice system.

The head of the country’s Judiciary advised that a steering committee, comprising representatives of the legal fraternity, has been established to brainstorm and identify ways in which the justice system can operate more effectively and efficiently. Criminal Case Management is designed as an administrative hearing to resolve any and all issues in a case, as part of the preparatory work before the matter is set down for trial.