Courts to Become ISO certified

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 JIS News.

“So, you will have to demonstrate that over time you are not only acting in accordance with your stated standards but in the event that shortcomings are identified, then you have to demonstrate that you are actually working on and improving those shortcomings. By the end of 2024 we should see improved service delivery from all our courts,” he noted.

The Chief Justice informed that the Jamaican judiciary has become a member of the International Consortium for Court Excellence.

He noted that this is an international organisation that is dedicated to improvement in the efficiency of courts.

“So, both from a qualitative standpoint and from a quantitative standpoint we will be benefiting from the interaction with courts from different legal systems, different parts of the world, and consequently, what we are doing is holding ourselves accountable by meeting international standards,” Justice Sykes said.

He told JIS News that as part of the process to become a member of the International Consortium for Court Excellence, an internal survey of the judiciary was conducted “to get a benchmark as to where we are”.

“The areas that need improvement, we have to develop and submit a plan of improvement to the organisation, and then if you are accepted as a member… you have to demonstrate, with data, that you are actually addressing the areas of weakness that the survey identified,” he outlined.

Justice Sykes said he is expecting continued improvement within the judicial system for 2024.