DEALING with both civil and criminal cases have proven to be a challenge for the one judge who presides over the Suddie High Court, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and a senior member of the bar has called for more judges to be placed in the region.

Senior Counsel (SC), Neil Boston who resides in the Essequibo region highlighted the noticeable struggle of the judge who usually presides over all the matters in the High Court of that region. “One judge solution no longer seems to work within the best interest of Essequibians because the judge has to juggle time between criminal assizes and civil matters,” Boston said during his address to the audience at the commissioning ceremony of the judges/magistrates living quarters in Suddie.

The attorney said the burden of dealing with all the cases is not just on the current judge but has been on judges who presided in the region before, since Essequibo gets only one judge. Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry is the presiding judge at the Suddie High Court.

Boston explained that sometimes the judge would have to deal with a number of civil cases and criminal cases within a given timeframe. In order to reduce that burden, he suggested that another judge be sent to the region, even if the added judge will only deal with civil matters.

Justice Brassington Reynolds who presided as the judge in the region for almost 10 years, supported the idea of having a second judge. Although the Chief Justice (ag), Roxanne George-Wiltshire did not deny that there is a need for another judge, she said there has been no backlog of cases in the region for a while and it is owed to the good work of the judge and magistrate who preside at the courts.

The work of the courts in the region and the newly commissioned living quarters were recognised by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. The Minister commended the judges and the judicial leaders but pointed out that citizens of Bartica still have to travel to the Essequibo Coast to receive judicial services. “These services should be provided to citizens at the least possible convenience,” said the Minister, adding that Government intends to address the issue in a holistic way so that services can be provided to citizens in a more convenient manner.