— innovative solutions crafted to mitigate impact of COVID-19 pandemic

IN any society, there is an onus on the Judiciary to ensure swift and efficient access to justice. In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this obligation does not erode, but rather becomes even more indispensable.

In Guyana, the antiquated legal system is often a deterrent to pursuing litigation, as it is culturally characterised by delays, backlogs and unsatisfactory results. Delivering justice in a pandemic prima facie presented a trial to the fortitude of the legal system.

On March 11, 2020, when the COVID-19 was officially detected on the shores of Guyana, the country was already plagued with a crisis of its own – the pandemonium that followed the March 2, 2020 Regional and General Elections. The symptoms which accompanied this elections predicament were a series of litigation which put a strain on the Judiciary.

While ‘access to justice’ is a multifaceted undertaking, President of the Guyana Bar Association and prominent attorney-at-law, Teni Housty, during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, shared a glimpse of the experience of the Bar pertaining to access to justice during the pandemic.

Housty explained, “The immediate effect [of the COVID-19 pandemic] was to slow the turning of the wheels of justice; it could have ground the wheels to a halt, but it did not.”

RESILIENT
In making his point, he noted that the swift and efficient manner in which the courts dealt with the election-related litigation is a testimony to the fact that the system of justice is “resilient”.

In those matters, lawyers prepared thorough submissions which judges were required to assiduously peruse before delivering comprehensive judgements in a swift manner, a colossus task which would usually take months, was done in days.

Undoubtedly, every sector of society was affected by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and the justice sector was not exempted. Housty, however, highlighted that there was a silver lining which resulted as a consequence of the pandemic pertaining to the justice system.

With the COVID-19 Guidelines restricting face to face interactions, the Courts had to adapt to, and incorporate, the electronic environment into its modus operandi, a somewhat foreign concept to the usual ‘bricks and mortar’ system it operated under.

Housty explained that, at the beginning of the pandemic, the Bar held a webinar which was conducted by Attorney-at-law Stephen Fraser, S.C to highlight the importance of adapting to the electronic environment and ensure lawyers are on the same page.

Judges also played their part in these efforts, with one particular judge reminding attorneys of some core components required to access and deliver justice through the electronic environment, which the judge listed as bandwidth, backup battery and an appropriate background.

The Judiciary gradually implemented and incorporated various systems into its functioning such as remote hearings via Zoom and an e-filing platform on the Supreme Court’s website, to ensure that there is no delay in delivery of, and access to, justice.

Housty explained that while those plans and others were already in the pipelines to be implemented in the justice sector and there was no doubt that it would have become a reality one day, the pandemic accelerated the implementation.

CLICK OF A MOUSE
The new norm, that is the electronic environment, has resulted in the improvement of efficiency and access to justice. For example, it has enabled lawyers to move from one court to the other with the click of a mouse.

“We used to have to wait on the Court corridor, losing time because of the judicial diary – now we sit in our offices in a zoom waiting room and you’re still in your office you can still do some work while you wait,” Housty noted.

Where remote hearings are not possible, the Courts operate under strict COVID-19 guidelines; this has allowed for the resumption of jury trials in relation to Criminal Justice.

Further, to restore and increase access to hearings for prisoners, containers at the Lusignan Prison barracks at the Cecil Kilkenny Training College at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) were retrofitted into 14 courtrooms that enabled virtual hearings of cases, in December 2020.

INNOVATION SHOULD CONTINUE
Housty noted the improvement of the avenues of justice provided significant advantages and those who sit at the Bar are hopeful that the significant changes brought about by the pandemic which resulted in the development of the sector are not discarded after normality resumes.

“It has put us on a faster information highway; we took a bypass onto the highway and we are on it and let us not take off the ramp, let us continue on the highway and let us focus on getting better, reversing should not be an option,” he said.

Coming of age with the technological sector was not without its challenges, in the initial stages, the Courts were faced with minor problems pertaining to Zoom licences and bandwidth issues; however, it’s a process being sorted out as the challenges arise.

With the evolving of any sector there’s always new challenges; the justice system was not spared. Housty noted that there was still room for improvement, such as the e-payment system to accompany the e-filing system, as lawyers were still mandated to pay at the courts’ registries.

He also noted that, with disappearance of physical limitations, such as the Court house only being able to accommodate a certain amount of matters, through the new implementations, there is now a room for even greater development.

The attorney recommended that, at this formative juncture, there is a need for more judicial personnel to be trained and introduced into the profession which will help to deal with matters on par with the improved level of efficiency.

DIGITAL DIVIDE
A challenge which is very much still visible is the digital divide, depending on the various factors including locality for persons access to technology varies. Housty noted while some clients were happy with the new changes, they posed a challenge to some.

“Certain clients are happy, for example clients overseas log on to the zoom link, but, if you have a client in a rural area, that is going to be a bit of a challenge. The digital divide is still real; that’s why it has to be a blended system,” Housty noted.

The attorney explained that clients were still adjusting and there was a collaborative effort to ensure that clients were not disadvantaged, such as, in some cases, clients will go to counsel chambers to access remote hearings when they cannot on their own.

Housty explained that, in the early stages, the Guyana Bar Association was not included in many consultations where it had significant recommendations that could have played a major role in the process. He urged that there needed to be a collaborative effort and engagement with all stakeholders moving forward.

In terms of access to justice, he noted, “There was never going to be a denial of justice; members of the justice system would not allow that. There were delays and there could have been more delays, but the measures that have been adopted have ensured that there are no substantial delays and the opportunity is to keep moving without delays”.