Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is urging judges to expedite non-contentious matters such as probates, divorces and restrictive covenants.

He made the call in his address to members of the judiciary during the Judiciary of Jamaica’s annual
strategic management retreat, which began on Monday, August 14.

The justice minister emphasised that delayed decisions in these matters may be impeding the disposal or completion of billions of dollars in projects and assets. He further pointed out that disputes that await decisions hold up the lives of many litigants and urged the judges to complete their cases in a timely manner. 

While acknowledging the need for further improvements, Chuck commended the judges for the significant progress that has made in the justice sector. He highlighted the backlog reduction programme, where recent statistics point to a 3 per cent backlog in cases in the parish courts.

The justice minister also pointed out that with increased compensation across the public sector, there is an urgent requirement for increased productivity, otherwise inflation could erode the improved compensation.

In the meantime, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes noted that “the strategic retreat for the judiciary is important as it allows us to assess our performance and to plan strategically for the years ahead”.

“Since we embarked on this process, one of the things we have learnt is that like Lord Kelvin said,
‘if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.’ The strategic planning process has allowed us to
measure and set objective targets in relation to backlog reduction, hearing date certainty, the general
administration of justice and service delivery in the courts; we have seen significant improvements
in all these areas.” the chief justice outlined.

The five-day retreat, which ends on Friday, August 18, has in attendance the leadership of the courts, court staff and key personnel of the Court Administration Division, and will focus on the
performance of the judiciary under the last strategic business plan and refining the Tier-2 plans
for the coming year.