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The Courthouses and Judicial Residences Programme, in the Ministry of Justice, is projected to spend $402 million this fiscal year on construction and improvements to court houses, including the Supreme Court. For this fiscal year, the provision for construction and improvements to court houses will facilitate the purchase of a National Commercial Bank (NCB) building, at 52-54 King Street, Kingston,...

The Citizens Security and Justice Project (CSJP) will be enhanced with the provision of $964 million, as stated in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. The project, which got underway in September 2001, through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank, aims to prevent and reduce violence, strengthen crime management capabilities, and improve the delivery of...

The Ministry of Justice is again warning unsuspecting members of the public to desist from handing over Court fees, fines or other payments to unauthorized individuals. The Ministry's reminder follows media reports that some members of the public, who had gone to the Corporate Area Resident Magistrates' Court, in Half Way Tree to conduct business, were reportedly fleeced of several...

The Joint Select Committee considering the Report on the Review of the Defamation Law held its first meeting on Thursday March 19 at Gordon House, Duke Street Kingston. The 12-member committee chaired by Minister of Justice and Attorney General Senator Dorothy Lightbourne was specifically convened to deal with administrative matters, including the timeline and procedure for examination of the 42-page...

The Television Department of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) has presented a video documentary 'Working it Out', to the Dispute Resolution Foundation. The video was aired in two parts, on CVM and TVJ, on March 4 and 11. The documentary will help raise awareness of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and the work of the DRF. It is hoped that the...

Corruption has declined significantly in Jamaica since 2006, Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Dr. Karen Hilliard, has confirmed. In an interview with JIS News, Dr. Hilliard explained that USAID began conducting democracy surveys, every other year, in Jamaica since 2006. The first report revealed that 36 percent of Jamaicans surveyed had been victims of corruption...

Chief Executive Officer of the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF), Donna Parchment-Brown, says that the celebration of the National Year of Dispute Resolution, should create the basis for a reduction in conflicts this year. "A National Year of Dispute Resolution gives us, as Jamaicans, a broad area of opportunity to reflect on our capacity as individuals to engage together to resolve...

Chief Justice Zaila McCalla was released from the Tony Thwaites Wing of the University Hospital of the West Indies, yesterday, after completing a series of tests. Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports(MICYS), the Hon. Olivia Grange, confirmed last night that the Chief Justice had completed the tests and was discharged from the hospital. The Minister had reported Wednesday that...

Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, has re-emphasised the Government's commitment to the establishment of Community Justice Tribunals. "These tribunals are to be conducted by Justices of the Peace, and other legitimate community leaders, who will resolve disputes between citizens that do not involve criminal offences," the Minister explained about the tribunals, which were an element of...

The Ministry of Justice will spend approximately $15 million this year, on pilot projects supporting the implementation of the Weekend Duty Counsel programme, as part of the Legal Aid system. Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, told the Senate on Friday that the Legal Aid Council has started to implement the programme, to strengthen access and increase...

A five-year justice system transformation framework agenda has been prepared and a submission to Cabinet for its approval is being finalised. Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, in her contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday (Feb.13), said that the framework, which included priorities from the wide range of reform recommendations...

Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, has said that that it will cost approximately $103 million annually to deal with the backlog of cases in the courts. The Minister was making her contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday(Feb.13). She said that several measures have been implemented to deal with the...