PRESIDENT of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Charles Dennis Byron has said that while the CCJ has made significant strides, backlogs of cases in courts throughout the Region remain a major concern.

“Everywhere I go in the Region, people complain of the delay in the process and the backlogs in the courts. And I have first-hand indication that many of these complaints are justified,” Sir Dennis told media operatives while at the Marriott Hotel on Tuesday.

He said the CCJ has not only raised these concerns, but provided the requisite solutions while setting the highest standards. “We have implemented the highest standards of case management and good practices. So I was able [to] say for example that in our court there is no backlog, that every case that was filed before the 1st June this year has already been heard,” said the proud CCJ President.

Additionally, he said the CCJ has done significant work in providing capacity development for its court systems in judicial education and training programmes. The quality of technology being used by the CCJ has also been improved.

“I am formally committed to the view that the development of e-filing systems in the courts and increasing the use of case management supported by court technology programmes is essential,” he stated, while emphasising that the use of technology is key to a fair and efficient judicial service. Sir Byron is set to demit office next year, and though he did not share his future plans, he expressed a sense of satisfaction with the accomplishments achieved during his stewardship.

“The reputation of a court to a large extent depends on the quality of its jurisprudence, and the extent to which we have fulfilled the expectations of helping to develop Caribbean jurisprudence, and during the last six years, I think we have done that,” he said.
Sir Byron said over the last six years, a number of very important decisions were made, many of which have been highly accepted both in the academic and legal communities, regionally and internationally.

He noted that although only four countries – Guyana, Barbados, Belize, and Dominica – have accepted the CCJ as the final court of appeal, there has been a very wide range of important issues that were brought before the court and were adjudicated. “In addition to that, I think that the court has tried to set standards which could assist in improving the quality of justice in the Region,” Sir Byron added.