Commonwealth Judicial Conference an Opportunity to Strengthen Justice Systems – PM

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness, has welcomed the Commonwealth Magistrates & Judges’ Association (CMJA) 2026 Annual Conference as an opportunity for judicial officers to share ideas and strengthen justice systems in response to today’s challenges.

He was addressing the opening ceremony for the event at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston on Monday (September 21).

Dr. Holness said that the conference, which runs from September 20 to 24, brings together a community of nations that share important legal and institutional traditions despite differences in geography, size, history, and circumstances.

He noted that across the Commonwealth, justice systems are confronting many of the same pressures.

“Caseloads are becoming more complex; technology is changing both the administration of justice and the nature of the matters coming before the courts. Transnational organised crime, cybercrime, and increasingly sophisticated financial crimes present new challenges,” the

Prime Minister pointed out, noting that these challenges make gatherings such as the CMJA conference particularly valuable.

“This conference provides an opportunity to learn from one another, to compare experiences, examine emerging challenges, share innovations, and consider how the administration of justice can continue to evolve while preserving the fundamental principles upon which our legal system rests,” he said.

He noted that Jamaica is honoured to host the Conference, expressing hope that delegates will return to their respective jurisdictions with ideas and experiences that strengthen the administration of justice.

He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening Jamaica’s institutions of justice.

“The Government recognises that a modern society requires a justice system that is independent… properly resourced, technologically capable and accessible to the people it serves,” he said.

In his remarks, Governor-General, His Excellency, the Most. Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, noted that the delegates were meeting at a consequential time for the administration of justice.

He pointed out that the courts over which they preside today bear little resemblance, in some respects, to those of a generation ago, due to technology altering the way that justice is administered.

“Citizens rightly expect institutions to be more accessible, more efficient and more responsive. New and increasingly complex questions are being placed before our courts, even while long-standing challenges of delay, resources and access remain. The judiciary must, therefore, respond to these realities,” he pointed out.

Noting the aptness of the conference theme, ‘Sustainable Justice For Today, For Tomorrow, For All’, the Governor General said that “sustainable justice cannot simply mean courts that function efficiently today”.

“It has to contemplate institutions sufficiently resilient to serve generations we will never meet, legal systems capable of embracing innovation without surrendering principle, and judiciaries sufficiently independent to administer justice without fear, favour or undue influence,” he contended.

The Governor General noted that gatherings such as the CMJA Conference are important in providing a space in which judicial officers may learn from one another, confront common challenges and strengthen the principles upon which the administration of justice depends.

He said that while the respective legal systems may differ in scale and circumstance, they are connected by a profound responsibility to preserve public confidence in justice and to ensure that the institutions of justice are strengthened.