Let's start with the good. As I indicated to Justice Kokaram in a matter recently, it is fashionable in this country to always criticise and point out the negatives, but we hardly take enough time to look on the bright side and acknowledge and celebrate the positives in our world around us.
A very good and positive example of how our judicial system is functioning effectively and efficiently occurred recently when a matter was referred to Justice Kokaram for mediation. The matter involved a police officer living in New Jersey, USA, and an elderly pensioner in Tobago.
As part of the mediation talks, the court, through the inventiveness and dedication of the learned judge, the use of a BlackBerry phone, a laptop and Skype technology, was able to convene and conduct voluntary mediation sessions, which eventually resulted in an agreement being brokered and a draft order being produced.
When one considers the time, cost and inconvenience that is spared by having matters resolved through a voluntary mediation process and with the use of modern technology, it is clear that the judiciary has made significant improvements from the bad old days when it may have taken between five and ten years, in some instances, to complete a civil court matter.
The bad
It is not all good news, though, as there is still room for improvement. There are numerous and significant clogs in the judicial system and the administration of justice. We still have some matters languishing in the court system for years, and there are numerous issues with the Probate Registry.
The apparently random and un-codified system of queries, where, for example, a description of a female over the age of 18 who died having never been married is rejected as inadequate, because someone at the registry sent back a query where you are required to put the word "spinster."
Surely, in the year 2012, we cannot be realistically hanging on to such archaic constructs as a means to delay the grant of probate or administration of someone's estate. It is clearly absurd, as what else is a female over the age of 18 who died having never been married, if not a spinster? There are many other ways that the administration of justice is entangled in delays and red tape.
The Minister of National Security has recently revived the idea of night courts as a means of trying to deal with the backlog of cases. While it is a laudable idea, it is something which has been tried before and the nation was underwhelmed by the results. If it is to work this time around, we need to make sure we tackle front and centre the very key elements that contributed to its lack of success in the past.
The ugly
We've saved the worst for last, because it deals with the physical infrastructure of the court-the maintenance and upkeep, or lack thereof, and general way in which the public are treated when they try to access justice within the precincts of our courts. It is a crying shame to see the way some of our court buildings look-awful, dingy and not properly maintained. Our Hall of Justice, for instance, is clearly in need of a good power wash or sandblasting, as its walls are mossy and grimy.
The Hall of Justice in Scarborough and the Scarborough Magistrates Court are in no better condition. If, however, we think we have a problem with the exteriors, the interiors of some of our courts throughout this country paint an even sorrier sight.
The Arima Magistrates Court is a disgrace, as there is no proper provision for members of the public to be seated. People have to line the stairs like cattle, clinging to the rails, hoping for their names to be called. This cannot be good or acceptable in a country that has had the benefit of so much wealth and resources.
The situation in so many other magistrates courts throughout this nation is just as bad, with members of the public being treated in an inhumane way as they come seeking justice. Many courts do not have adequate or properly functional toilets and bathroom facilities for the public, as well as there is no proper provision for single parents who may have to bring their young ones with them.
Many courts do not have water coolers for the public, nor do most of them have any proper cafeterias or eating facilities for people who sometimes have to stand around for half a day just waiting for their names to be called, many times just to have their matters adjourned yet again.
There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. The bright star and showpiece jewel in the judicial crown is undoubtedly the Family Court in Port-of-Spain, whose facilities, though not perfect, begin to approach a very high standard of international acceptability and excellence. This should be looked at as the model or template from which all other courts should be patterned for an upgrade and desperately needed makeover, to move them from the ugly and bad, to the good.
