00:00Speaking at the Law Association of Trion Tobago's law conference at the Hyatt Regency on Friday,
00:06the Chief Justice said the justice system had to be reimagined to better serve court users
00:12and resolve disputes more efficiently.
00:14He said the system had to shift its focus from procedural complexity to outcomes.
00:21Do we run a justice system to manage rules and compliance, or do we manage a justice system to resolve
00:30disputes?
00:31The Chief Justice said civil, family, criminal and children's matters all required reforms in how cases progressed through the courts,
00:41noting that existing procedures were often too layered and slow.
00:46He said consultations had already begun on the civil proceeding rules,
00:51with further reforms planned for family and criminal court rules.
00:56In family matters, he said there was still too much adversarial litigation and insufficient focus on early settlement,
01:05adding that costs and lengthy affidavits often obscured the real issues.
01:11He also questioned whether oral advocacy had been undervalued.
01:15This is not to mention that costs have also become a runaway horse.
01:21Have we moved too far away from oral advocacy,
01:26where we can, in half an hour, distill our respective cases for the judge,
01:33rather than spending time to put in lengthy written submissions for everything?
01:37The Chief Justice also noted the judiciary needed to treat with cases faster and more efficiently.
01:45The next matter as a judiciary we have to do better at is ensuring the timely disposition of cases.
01:53The cases must progress through the system efficiently,
01:57and there must be benchmarks and standards for how cases move.
02:02Cases have to be heard in a timely manner,
02:05and judgments have to be given as promptly as possible.
02:08This applies to every aspect of our justice system.
02:13Inefficiencies have to be identified and resolved.
02:16Underperformance has to be identified, and measures put in place to fix them.
02:22Budu Singh said the criminal courts required greater coordination between judges,
02:27prosecutors, and defense attorneys to reduce delays and improve efficiency,
02:32stressing that all parties benefited from shorter trials.
02:36He said the magistrate's court remained a priority,
02:40noting that several facilities had been closed due to long-term maintenance issues.
02:44He said he had visited courts across the country to assess conditions,
02:50and was working towards reopening them.
02:52At the same time, he said the judiciary was introducing measures to improve access,
02:58including video access centers, and filing kiosks to allow litigants to file documents closer to home.
03:06He said excessive reliance on virtual hearings had affected younger attorneys,
03:11who were missing courtroom exposure and mentorship opportunities.
03:16There is an intangible benefit when accused persons, litigants, and other parties come to court,
03:24see the judicial officer, and interact with others in the court process.
03:29This is especially important for rural communities,
03:32where the courthouse is the center of the town,
03:35and commands respect in a building and not just on a screen.
03:39So we are gradually, one court at a time, getting back into open court,
03:44where citizens can walk in and view proceedings.
03:47Alexander Broussoul, TV6 News.
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