Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says the Ministry will seek approval from Cabinet to use legal aid to pay mediators in the parish courts. “Mediation is a very important alternative dispute resolution method used in the Supreme Court, but not used as much in the parish courts because persons can’t afford it,” he noted. He was addressing the Ministry’s...

The Justice Training Institute (JTI) is making it easier for students to do their assessments amid the challenges caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Speaking with JIS News, Director Principal of the JTI, Karen Campbell Bascoe, said that the move is part of efforts to improve programme delivery to better cater to students’ needs. “There is fatigue for everybody in...

Cabinet has approved an increase in fees for attorneys-at-law empanelled by the Legal Aid Council (LAC) equivalent to 15 to 25 per cent of the market rate for private lawyers. Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams, says the increase is in keeping with Section 4 (2b) of the Legal Aid Act. The Minister was speaking during Wednesday’s...

The Justice Ministry’s Justice Training Institute (JTI) has trained over 1,600 Justices of the Peace (JP) between April 2020 and August 2021, using the online modality. Of that number, 350 have been trained since the start of the new financial year, April 2021, said Principal Director of the JTI, Karen Campbell Bascoe. She told JIS News that between April 2020...

The introduction of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to youth across the country could secure strengthened conflict-management techniques. ADR methods such as mediation, restorative justice, conciliation and arbitration are processes and techniques persons can use to settle disputes outside of the courts. Manager for Youth Services and Administration at the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF), Cherrol Taylor, told JIS News that...

President of the Court of Appeal, the Hon. Mr. Justice Patrick Brooks, says there are concentrated efforts to reduce the backlog of 70 reserved cases. He disclosed that of the 70 reserved cases, one dating back to 2018, and seven from the year 2019. “Thirty of the 70 cases are from 2020 and those are steadily being reduced,” he also...

The Justice Training Institute (JTI) has reached more Jamaicans through the offering of classes online. Since last year, the Institute has been using the virtual modality to deliver training courses to participants. Director Principal of the JTI, Karen Campbell-Bascoe, told JIS News that the JTI intended to eventually deliver sessions online, but the reality of the (COVID-19) pandemic expedited efforts....