Judgment delays in the judicial system of Barbados

28th November, 2023

STATEMENT BY THE ORGANIZATION OF COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEANnBAR ASSOCIATIONS (OCCBA).

Re:- Judgment delays in the judicial system of Barbados.

The Council of the Barbados Bar Association (BBA) has issued a statement dated 22nd November, 2023. In that statement the BBA remarks that in Barbados “…there are over 50 cases and/or applicationsnwhich have been tried, the decisions reserved by the judge, and the parties waited months, if not years, for a decision. For one reason or another, the court failed to deliver a decision and/or failed to deliver reasons for the judgment within 6 months after the trial/submission…”. The BBA opines that these delays quite possibly amount to a breach of the Constitutional rights guaranteed to litigants and may well amount to judicial misconduct which breaches Section 84(3) of the Constitution (Amendment No. 2) Act, 2019. The BBA noted that some of its members have filed formal complaints pertaining to some applications as well as some judges, and in this regard they remark that “…the Barbados Bar Association also stands firmly behind our Members and the Complainants and will provide the support necessary to call upon the holders of offices responsible for upholding the rule of law, to fulfil their obligations as intended by the Constitution of Barbados…”.

OCCBA fully supports the statement issued by our colleagues at the Barbados Bar for several reasons,
and we make the following remarks:-

1. 1. In Commonwealth jurisdictions (including Barbados), the Rule of Law correctly prescribes the supremacy of the Constitution. The BBA and OCCBA must remain vigilant in rotecting and preserving the Constitutional rights and mechanisms designed to ensure the rights of the citizenry and to prevent abuse or neglect of process by government and its
      administrative bodies or the judiciary. The protection and preservation of our Rule of Law requires us to be watchdogs in the maintenance of judicial standards, competence and delivery of justice.
   2.  Some might suggest that the number of reported backlogs in Barbados is really nothing to complain about as there are other jurisdictions with much higher numbers of backlogged cases. Respectfully, that misses the point. If legal redress or equitable relief to an injured party is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, it is effectively the same as having no remedy at all. It matters not that it is case backlog of 15, 50, 15,000 or 500,000 cases, the backlog denies justice to complainants and flies in the face of the entrenched Constitutional rights of the citizens and those before the court. Accountability is a part of the modern judicial process.
   3.  The issues of case backlogs are regional wide. This must be urgently and fully and quickly addressed so as to not damage (or do further damage to) public confidence in the judicial systems throughout Caricom. We urge the BBA, the Barbados judiciary and other stakeholders to urgently work together to put in place systems, mechanisms and measures to reduce backlog and ensure the timely and professional delivery of justice. Some mechanisms include putting in place more judges
      and support staff (particularly judicial clerks), night courts, improving the plant and equipment of courts, using online platforms for hearings giving judges leave from hearing new cases to specifically deliver written judgments in older cases, enforcing the Constitutional provisions to deal with members of the judiciary who fall behind in delivering their judgments, judicial training and setting targets for reducing case backlog. OCCBA urgesthe BBA and other Bar Associations to continue to raise their collective voices to achieve the objective of reducing court backlogs and delayed cases, which remains a problem not only in Barbados but throughout the justice systems of the Commonwealth Caribbean.

END

ORGANIZATION OF COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN BAR ASSOCIATIONS
Per:- DONOVAN C. WALKER – PRESIDENT
CONTACT:- dcwalker@hmf.com.jm.