Metric System Assisting the Courts
By: , June 4, 2019The Key Point:
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck (second left), looks on as Court Statistician, Dr. Denarto Dennis (right), and Data Entry Clerk from the St. Ann Parish Court, Shanique Davis (seated), demonstrate the use of the Case Management Statistical System, which has been implemented at parish courts across the island. Observing are Head of Development Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada, Walter Bernyck; and former Chief Justice, Hon. Zaila McCalla. Occasion was the official launch of the metric system in the courts in 2017, at the Ministry of Justice.The Facts
- “We now have a number of metrics that have been applied to the Jamaican court system, which is consistent with the international standards. These metrics allow us to track how each court across the island is performing,” Dr. Dennis told JIS News, recently.
- He pointed out that the ability to track the performance of the courts using metrics “has bolstered the micro- and macro-level operational efforts to expedite the disposition of cases from the court system”.
The Full Story
Court Statistician, Dr. Denarto Dennis, says that the implementation of a metric system has aided in the performance of the Jamaican court system.
“We now have a number of metrics that have been applied to the Jamaican court system, which is consistent with the international standards. These metrics allow us to track how each court across the island is performing,” Dr. Dennis told JIS News, recently.
He pointed out that the ability to track the performance of the courts using metrics “has bolstered the micro- and macro-level operational efforts to expedite the disposition of cases from the court system”.
In 2017, the Ministry of Justice implemented a Case Management Statistical System in parish courts islandwide, which captures data on criminal matters and enhances the capacity of the justice system to manage backlogs.
Since then, seven Parish Courts have recorded a clearance rate of over 100 per cent.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dennis said that in order to achieve the international standard of a five per cent court case backlog rate, the country needs to obtain a court clearance rate of 130 per cent.
He explained that this 130 per cent is a measurement of how many cases are cleared in relation to how many cases are brought before the courts.