Prime Minister,Andrew Holness after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition has written to Governor General Sir Patrick Allen to confirm Acting Chief Mr. Justice Bryan Sykes, CD, as Chief Justice of Jamaica. The appointment will take effect on March 1. The ceremony will be held at 9am at Kings House tomorrow.

Acting Chief Justice, Bryan Sykes, says the time has come for a re-examination of how resources are requested and allocated within the court system. He noted that, often, concerns are raised about case backlogs, which evoke calls for increased manpower, but argued that in many instances the solution is to “utilise the existing resources that we have in a more...

Stricter rules are coming for how the country’s Justices of the Peace (JPs) operate, following the passage of the Justices of the Peace Act, 2018 in the Upper House on Friday (February 23). The Bill, which was passed with five amendments, is aimed at strengthening the regime governing the functions of JPs. It provides for codifying the selection, appointment, discipline,...

Residents of Denham Town in West Kingston today (February 21) benefited from the services of the Legal Aid Council’s Mobile Justice Unit. The Unit, which began operations in January 2017, provides free consultation and advice, and completes court assignments for clients with criminal matters. “So, persons who want expungement of criminal records, for example, and persons who cannot afford an...

Building design plans are to be developed in the upcoming fiscal year to allow members of the disabled community easier access to the island’s courts. This is to be carried out under the Technical Cooperation Facility V project, for which a sum of $78.5 million has been allotted in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure. The funds will also be used...

A number of justice facilities across the island are to be expanded and rehabilitated in the new fiscal year at a cost of more than $1.3 billion. The Government has provided $954 million in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure to retrofit an existing building to accommodate a family court in Spanish Town, St. Catherine; establish four justice centres islandwide; and...

A sum of $81.9 million has been allocated for the Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST) project, as outlined in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project seeks to improve service delivery and the management capacity of justice-sector institutions; improve capacity of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to coordinate and streamline the process of...