Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, on Tuesday (July 21) tabled the Dogs (Liability for Attacks) Act 2020 in the House of Representatives, which will provide for criminal and civil liability for an owner of a dog that attacks, injures and or causes the death of a person. This follows several vicious attacks on members of the public up to...

Virtual conferences are now a feature of the Ministry of Justice’s Restorative Justice Unit (RJU) offerings, in direct response to minimising potential client exposure to COVID-19. A Restorative Justice Conference is one of the tools used to address disputes by facilitating a meeting of the victim, offender, and member of the community. Restorative Justice Coordinator, Andriene Lindsay, told JIS News...

The Ministry of Justice restorative justice centres across the island have resumed full operations. In April, the centres scaled down operations and cancelled sensitisation sessions as a result of reduced intake of cases, owing to the suspension of parish court sittings due to the coroanvirus (COVID-19). Coordinator of the Restorative Justice Programme, Andriene Lindsay, told JIS News that the centres...

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, is again encouraging suitably qualified persons to volunteer to become mentors under the National Child Diversion Programme. “It is not too late for persons to volunteer to become mentors. The application form may be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Justice,” Mr. Chuck advised, in a statement in the House of Representatives...

The Ministry of Justice is calling on Jamaicans to sign up as mentors for the National Child Diversion Programme. The Programme focuses on diverting children who have come in conflict with the law away from the criminal justice system and using a combination of psychosocial support for rehabilitation. So far, there have been 37 referrals and 27 cautions issued from...

Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says Cabinet has approved the establishment of a National Oversight Committee for the Ministry’s Child Diversion Programme. Child diversion relates to the implementation of alternative interventions to formal court proceedings, to assist children deemed to have broken laws. Mr. Chuck advised that the Committee, for which approval was granted following a Cabinet submission on Monday...

Prime Minister, the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness, says he has recommended a three-year extension of the tenure of the current Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Paula Llewellyn. He made the disclosure during a virtual press briefing on Wednesday (July 8) from the Office of the Prime Minister Media Centre in Kingston. After serving as DPP for the past 12 years,...