00:00The government is proposing the establishment of a new civil division of the High Court,
00:05which would include a small claims court and an Estates Administration office.
00:11Attorney General John Jeremy, senior counsel in piloting the legislation in the Senate,
00:16says the move is aimed at easing long-standing pressure on the judicial system
00:21and reducing backlogs across the courts.
00:24In terms of backlogs and bottlenecks, which lead to lengthy delays in the administration of justice,
00:33if there's a backlog in the civil division, there will be, given the structure of our courts
00:43and the manpower that runs the court, a corresponding backlog in the criminal justice system.
00:52A.G. Jeremy says the delays in the justice system have far-reaching consequences affecting both criminal and civil matters.
01:01Delay produces systemic damage.
01:06In the criminal sphere, it weakens deterrence.
01:11It creates the perception that offences are not punishable.
01:17On the civil side, delays over time foster impunity, erodes respect for the rule of law,
01:29and when justice takes years to arrive, people take justice into their own hands.
01:38Public confidence is diminished.
01:39Jeremy also referenced data from the judiciary's 2020 review of the petty civil court,
01:47pointing to severe inefficiencies in case management.
01:50The average time to disposition is two years, which is an inordinate length of time when compared to the claim value.
02:02Two, the service of processes and issues experienced with performing the functions provide a significant bottleneck in case flow.
02:14Three, over 50 percent of their pending caseload can, this is what the judiciary said,
02:24be immediately considered for clearance by mediation services.
02:29He argues that strengthening the legal framework is critical to maintaining order
02:33and that the government has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to lawlessness.
02:38The staffing structure of the division and its subdivisions have, in the main, included staffing positions
02:48from among those already within the judiciary, and very little further adjustment is required.
02:56The attorney general says the proposed changes can be implemented largely within the existing judicial structure.
03:04Urvishitamwari, Ruknarain, TV6 News.
03:08The technician claims to inform the
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