– says mediation and case management important in the process

WITH more than 10,000 backlogged cases before the High Court, a United States Judge is in Guyana to assist with the enhancement of the delivery of justice.Senior Judge Clifford Wallace in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, said there is a great need for the backlog of cases within the High Court to be reduced; this, he said, will speed up the delivery of justice here.
Judge Wallace had visited over 64 counties implementing case- management programming and is here assisting the judiciary with the fundamental concepts and techniques essential to effective case management and the court on a day-to-day basis.
The American Judge opined that the rise in the number of backlogged cases may be as a result of Guyana’s use of the common law legal system.
“All the countries that have come out of the British rule are having the same problem with the huge numbers of backlogged cases,” the U.S. Judge said, as he explained that he had worked in similar situations with countries and was successful with the breakdown of cases.
Judge Wallace noted too that countries that had inherited the British legal system are making changes and teaching judges, registrars, magistrates, staff and members of the bar about case- management. By month-end, the Civil Procedures Rules will be used in the courts and with this change new rules will be implemented. Those rules would be similar to those in the Caribbean and are aimed at simplifying the processes within the court system to ensure the speedy completion of cases.
According to Judge Wallace, the backlog of cases in the High Court can be solved by proper case- management and through mediation. He said too that the number of rising cases in the system places a heavy burden on judges ,with each presiding over approximately 700 matters.
Case management ,he noted, helps to maximise the time judges spend on cases and reduces time spent in court speaking to matters that require little judicial input; that time, he said, can be spent on more meaningful cases.
Meanwhile, in the case of mediation, Judge Wallace believes it is an efficient and effective tool that allows the parties in a case to make a determination into matters, is faster, costs less and allows judges to spend more time on trials.
“In the U.S. 90% of the cases are mediated and 10% goes to trial, while in Guyana it’s the total opposite with 90% of the matters going before the court,” said Wallace, who noted that he was invited by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, to come here to educate judges, registrars and members of the bar about case- management with the aim of over time reducing the backlog of cases.
Thus far, Judge Wallace has visited several High Court officials and will be conducting training sessions with members of the Bar Association as part of the first phase of his project. The second phase will see emphasis being placed on the magisterial level.
Judge Wallace began his judicial career as a federal trial judge on the United States District Court. He was later nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Nixon in 1972. After taking senior status, Judge Wallace has focused his attention on the effort of religious freedom and human rights, working directly with judiciaries in more than 64 countries and on every continent.