Justice Ministry Embarks on Sensitisation Drive to Highlight Programmes for Settling Disputes

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says while there are several programmes for resolving private disputes, many persons are unaware of these.

Mr. Chuck, who was addressing Mount Alvernia High School and Cornwall College students in St. James on November 24, said it is against this background that the Ministry has embarked on an islandwide public education drive to highlight the programmes.

“We have some extremely good programmes at the Ministry of Justice. But the problem is that they are not well known… they are not well utilised at all,” he pointed out.

“The effect of it is that so many simple disputes, minor disagreements, and all types of conflicts end up in serious confrontations and, oftentimes, they end up in the courts. Therefore, I am going across the island… to all the parishes, to ensure that the justice programmes are properly publicised and that they are known in the various communities of each parish,” Mr. Chuck added.

The Minister said the backlog of cases in Jamaica’s courts remains a challenge, making it even more important for persons to try and settle disputes through mediation.

Mr. Chuck said domestic abuse is also a major issue that needs to be addressed. He noted that many victims have resigned themselves to suffer in silence, oftentimes not knowing who to turn to, or that there are programmes available that could assist them with their problems.

“Many of these battered women… and, I have no doubt, some men… could do with a bit of assistance… with a bit of counselling, However, how many of them know about the services that we offer? How many of them know of the victim services offices?” the Minister said.

Mr. Chuck explained that while the victim services offices are primarily for victims of crimes, “they are still available” to assist victims of domestic abuses.

Additionally, he said there have been instances where issues could have turned out differently, had these services been utilised.

“[What we find] is that many of the victims of abuse, harbour strong emotional feelings and oftentimes feel that the only way to get back at their offender is to retaliate… to take revenge,” he noted.

“Sometimes they [resort] to engaging the services of gunmen… sometimes they get other family members to violently intervene. The result is that what we have is a cycle of violence. These are matters which could be prevented if we were able to get these victims of abuses to simply seek help,” the Minister added.

Mr. Chuck said he is in no way insinuating that victims do not have their rights. He emphasised that rather than trying to resolve the problem on their own… they could “have spoken with a counsellor or an officer” who might be able to have the matter addressed in a responsible way.

The Minister pointed out that conflicts, domestic and otherwise, can be resolved by utilising the Ministry’s restorative justice programme.

He noted that “what we have seen is that if we could get them to the restorative justice centre, the likelihood is that the issues that have pulled them apart, can be addressed.”

“The beauty about restorative justice is that if you could get wrongdoers and victims of wrongdoers together, there is the real likelihood that matters could be resolved without having to go to court,” Mr. Chuck maintained.