During 2021, the Legal Aid Council (LAC) continued to carry out its core mandate of providing equal access to justice to all Jamaicans. Executive Director of the LAC, Dian Watson, told JIS News that the Council provides legal advice and representation for criminal matters to persons who cannot afford an attorney. She said representation is provided by two methods, through...

There are currently more than 9,000 Justices of the Peace (JPs) serving within communities across the island. They are characterised as persons of unquestionable integrity who seek to promote and protect the rights of individuals and help to give justice to those persons in a particular community. According to the Ministry of Justice, any citizen, club, organisation or other such...

Restorative Justice Centres, which offer services to resolve conflicts, have noted an increase in referrals from the courts and communities across the island. This was disclosed by Restorative Justice Coordinator, Andriene Lindsay. She tells JIS NEWS that conferences, in particular, have exceeded their target by 269 cases. “The target for this year is 2,200 conferences and for the second quarter...

Attorney-at-Law, Cecile Black, through her Northeastern Legal Aid Society (NELAS), is ensuring that poor and vulnerable persons in her native parish of Portland and surrounding areas can access justice, by providing them with high-quality legal representation. The entity, established in 2020, offers subsidised legal services for criminal cases, family court matters, especially those related to children and custody issues, and...

Since 2015, working towards achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been high on the agenda for the Government of Jamaica. These goals have become infused in the key development priorities of each sector of government, including Justice. The overarching principle governing the approach to achieving the SDGs is that of ‘leaving no one behind’, as emphasised...

The Justice Ministry’s Victims Services Division (VSD) continues to reach clients during the coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic through its e-counselling services. The entity provides opportunities for healing and therapeutic intervention in keeping with the Ministry’s commitment to ensure justice for all victims of crime. This mandate is carried out through 14 parish offices islandwide. Among the services provided are emotional support and crisis...

Executive Director of the Legal Aid Council (LAC), Hugh Faulkner, says the ability to provide timely and quality legal services to the Jamaican people remains a top priority. In an interview with JIS News at the agency’s regional office on Union Street, Montego Bay, in St. James, on July 16, Mr. Faulkner said the mission is beginning to gain widespread...

For more than 24 years, the Justice Training Institute (JTI) has contributed to the training and upskilling of justice sector workers in Jamaica. As the training arm of the Ministry of Justice, the Institute is mandated to design, develop and coordinate training programmes for persons within the justice sector as well as other stakeholders who are not formally part of...

More than guaranteeing a speedy conviction, plea bargaining provides benefits for multiple interests involved in a criminal matter, including victims of crime, while ensuring the integrity of the justice system. Plea bargaining involves negotiations between the attorney for the defendant and the prosecutor, where the defendant decides to plead guilty in exchange for an agreement by the prosecutor to vary...