Local judiciary addressing backlog of cases better -says AG Nandlall

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall believes the local judiciary is now in a better position to deal with the headache of heavy case loads, as a number of new initiatives are being introduced.

Appearing on his Issues in the News programme, Mr. Nandlall said the backlog of cases in the High Court is now being cleared, while cases at Magistrates’ Court and the Court of Appeal are being disposed of faster.

Mr. Nandlall acknowledged that sloth and inefficiencies have been regular features in the judiciary due a number of factors, which have crowded the Court system for years

The issue of backlog and long waiting time for trials has been a decades long one, hence he said a decision was taken to implement various initiatives.

The AG said new rules were also designed which attached strict timeframes to each case.

“That since implemented in 2016 has reduced the backlog significantly in the High Court. So now you are reading cases which were filed couple months ago and they are now being concluded, prior to that it used to take an average of 5-6 years, sometimes as much as 10 years to dispose of a case in the High Court,” the Attorney General stated.

He said Constitutional and Public law matters, which do not require evidence are concluded within months. On the other hand, cases which require evidence and trials are concluded in less than a year and a half. The Attorney General described the new development as a massive transformation for the Judiciary.

He also noted that the increase in manpower has also assisted in the reduction of cases, explaining that the compliment of Judges at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal has been increased to further reduce the case loads.

“So, you have 12—the largest number of judges ever added to the status of judges and then we have five more who are likely to be added to the Court of Appeal, so in 3 months you will have 17 additional judges, that must have a monumental impact on efficiency and speed on the judicial system. Another issue I will add tot hat compliment is the use of technology,” the AG note.

The introduction of E-courts at the various prisons across the country, has also reduced the timeline for persons waiting for their cases to be heard, the AG stated.