More

Minister of Justice, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, has said that the Ministry has established a number of strategic priorities for the financial year, as it works to improve efficiency at all levels of the court system, and enhance access to justice for Jamaicans. These priority targets, which she said, were highlighted in the justice reform agenda, and for which the Ministry...

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, has said that the Government is working to make the country's justice system more efficient and fairer to women and girls. "The Bureau of Women's Affairs has made a submission to the Jamaican Justice System Reform Task Force on a number of ways to provide women and girls equal protection under...

Chief Justice of Jamaica, the Hon. Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla, has recommended that more medical practitioners be trained to give evidence in court cases. Speaking at the opening of the Medical Association of Jamaica's (MAJ) Symposium 2009 yesterday (June 4), at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston, Mrs. Justice McCalla said the ignorance of some doctors regarding court procedures sometimes...

Tower Hill in St. Andrew has been added to the list of communities to benefit from a pilot project for the development of Community Justice Tribunals, as the Government moves forward with the implementation of the restorative justice policy. Speaking at the opening of the Third International Conference on Restorative and Community Justice held today (May 27) at the Knutsford...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding, in remarking on the stress on Jamaica's justice system, noted that for last year alone, there were some 345,000 cases listed for the Resident Magistrates Courts. This does not include the numbers listed in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal. Of the total, some 90 percent involve criminal offences. Mr. Golding was...

Debate on the Sexual Offences Act 2009 began in the Senate Friday (May 22), with Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Dorothy Lightbourne, making the opening contribution. The Bill, passed in the House of Representatives on March 31, seeks to amalgamate the various laws relating to incest and other sexual offences, and includes provision for a Sex...

Three communities are to benefit from a pilot project for the development of community justice tribunals as the Ministry of Justice presses forward with efforts towards the practice of restorative justice in Jamaica. "As a supporting mechanism, we are moving forward with the community justice tribunals and this is one of the key pledges that the government has advanced," said...

Work has commenced on a number of projects submitted by Members of Parliament (MPs) across the island for funding, under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), announced by Prime Minister Bruce Golding earlier this year. The CDF, which is funded from the national budget, provides a dedicated allocation for community development activities in each of the island's 60 political constituencies, with...

Plans for the establishment of a new body to investigate public complaints against members of the Security Forces and agents of the State took a significant step with the adoption by the Senate of the Report of the Joint Select Committee on the Independent Commission of Investigations Act, 2009. The Bill was tabled in the Senate on May 30, 2008....

Minister of Justice and Attorney General Senator the Hon. Dorothy Lightbourne, has underscored the need for greater use of Alternative Dispute Resolution, as a tool for promoting economic growth. "Delays in the resolution of conflicts, including commercial disputes, can significantly increase the cost of doing business, and consequently have a negative effect on the competitiveness of firms operating in Jamaica,"...

Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, has said that the new Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST) project will strengthen the judicial system, by improving the security and protection of citizens. One area which will certainly benefit, is in the training of Justices of the Peace (JPs), who are to be given additional responsibilities and more important...

Registration for birth certificates is one of the major focusses of the opportunity fair being hosted by the Citizens' Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) in several inner city communities between April 24 and May 22. In an interview with JIS News, Community Action Officer with the Programme, Marcia Flynn outlined that, "The objectives of the opportunity fair are to legitimise...