Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says harsher penalties are coming for persons who commit murder. He was opening Tuesday’s (January 16) debate in the House of Representatives on the Joint Select Committee report, which reviewed the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Act 2023, Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act 2023 and Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Act 2023. Mr. Chuck noted...

Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, says International Organization of Standardization (ISO) certification is being pursued for some processes within the courts. “Again, it’s holding ourselves to international standards because what the ISO certification will do is force us to document our processes, publicise them, police them internally, because when you receive the certification, you want to maintain it,” he told...

Jamaica’s courts continue to make progress in clearing case backlogs, says Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes. In the Court of Appeal, for every 100 cases that come in, approximately 111 cases are disposed of, he noted. “According to the statisticians, if you maintain that for about three years, then that becomes your new baseline from which you can push on...

Implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Jamaican Judiciary 2019-2023 to improve court performance has been bearing fruit. Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, said the goal of the plan was to not only improve court performance but also to improve service delivery to citizens. “By 2023, after four years, we saw improvement in the parish courts, Civil and Criminal Division...

Twelve members of the judiciary were sworn in to higher office for the Hilary Term by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, today (January 8), at King’s House. Taking the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath were Justices Georgiana Fraser and Lorna Shelly-Williams, who have been appointed to act as Court of Appeal Judges from January...

Significant progress has been made to clear the backlog of traffic tickets in the Corporate Area Traffic Court. Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, made the disclosure during an interview with JIS News. He informed that this was made possible through the work of the judges as well as the night court. “With regard to the traffic tickets under the Traffic...

It could cost the Government between US$3 million and US$5 million to implement an integrated electronic case management framework for the justice system. This was disclosed by Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, during a JIS News interview. He said it is proposed to commence the process of developing and operating the electronic case management system in both civil and criminal...