Administration of Justice in Jamaica PDF

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 6.53 SOWK2001  THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN JAMAICA The Ministry is assisted in this task by several agencies and departments, notably: The Attorney General The Solicitor General The Director of Public Prosecutions The Children’s Advo...

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 6.53 SOWK2001  THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN JAMAICA The Ministry is assisted in this task by several agencies and departments, notably: The Attorney General The Solicitor General The Director of Public Prosecutions The Children’s Advocate  OFFICES OF THE ADMINISTRATORS OF JUSTICE Dr Derrick McKoy Marlene Lynch-Aldred Claudette Thompson, Mrs Diahann Attorney General Solicitor General of Jamaica Acting Director of Public Gordon Harrison Prosecutions Children’s Advocate 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 3  ATTORNEY GENERAL The Attorney General of Jamaica is the chief law officer in Jamaica. Section 79(1) of the Constitution of Jamaica states that "there shall be an Attorney General who shall be the principal legal adviser to the Government of Jamaica" and pursuant to the Crown Proceedings Act all civil proceedings by or against the Government are instituted in the name of the Attorney General The Attorney General is politically appointed. (Attorney General’s Chambers) 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 4  THE DPP The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is created by Section 94 of the Jamaica (Constitution) Order in Council 1962 (hereinafter referred to as “The Constitution”). while criminal proceedings would be vested in the newly constituted office of Director of Public Prosecutions (“the DPP”), who would be a permanent public officer. (Attorney General’s Chambers) 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 5 SOLICITOR GENERAL The office of the Solicitor General was created in 1939 by the Solicitor General’s Act, which empowers the Solicitor General, subject always to the directions of the Attorney General, to perform any of the duties and exercise any of the powers of the Attorney General. The Solicitor General is a civil servant and the administrative head of the Attorney General’s Chambers. 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 6 CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE The Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) was established under the Child Care and Protection Act (2004) in 2006 (Section 4 (1) of the CCPA outlines the establishment of the Office of the Children’s Advocate). Is a Commission of Parliament mandated to protect and enforce the rights and best Interest of children. 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 7 OTHER OFFICES OF GOVERNANCE Registrar of Companies Registrar of Births and Deaths Office of the Political Ombudsman Office of the Public Defender Rent Board Office of Utilities Regulation JDF Firearm and Licensing Authority etc 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 8 REGISTRAR OF BIRTHS & DEATHS Aka Registrar General’s Department Established by the Registrar (Births and Deaths) Act, passed in 1881 (statute has been amended many times). Purpose to ensure that all children born in Ja are registered and a record kept of all persons who die in Ja. The Act places the responsibility of mother or father to register the child’s birth The Marriage Act by section 42 makes the Registrar General of Births and Deaths the Registrar General of Marriages. Sect 28 allows marriages to be carried out by a civil Registrar and without the need for religious ceremony. 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 9  COURT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM In an effort to improve the administration of justice and ensure a greater input by the judiciary in the administrative services of the court, the Court Management services was set up in August 2001 by the Government of Jamaica, through the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and in collaboration with the Public Sector Modernization Division (PSMD) , Cabinet Office.  COURT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The establishment of the Court Management Services (CMS) serves to restructure the institutional framework through which administrative services are provided to the Courts and further strengthen judicial independence. The agency’s establishment is designed to enable the Judiciary and the Courts to have greater input in budgetary decisions and execution of activities surrounding the operations of the Courts. THE JUSTICE SYSTEM Hierarchy of Courts Jurisdiction and responsibilities of Courts STRUCTURE OF THE JAMAICAN COURT SYSTEM THE JUSTICE SYSTEM Jamaica like most of the English speaking Caribbean has a Justice system that is based on the system in the United Kingdom The Court System has five tiers and 3 types/classification of courts Precedents from English Law and British Commonwealth traditions are used  CLASSIFICATION OF COURTS 1. Inferior Courts/summary courts: Parish Court (previously RM Courts) (& Petty Sessions (n.k.a. Lay Magistrates’ Court) 2. Superior Courts or Courts of Record – High Court or Supreme Court and Court of Appeal 3. Privy Council (England) or Caribbean Court of Justice  CLASSIFICATION OF COURTS Additionally, in Jamaica, there is a different type of court that falls between the superior and inferior courts, namely, an intermediate court” (Antoine, 1999, p.289) Another classification- summary level, the high court level and the appellate level (Brown, 2018). The court is organized according to this structure to correspond to the rank that the particular court is accorded in the judicial system. Thus, the higher the court in the hierarchy, the more authoritative SUPERIOR COURTS OR COURTS OF RECORD Consists of two (2) tiers, a High court or Supreme court and a Court of Appeal, with such jurisdiction, powers and authority as are conferred by these courts by the constitutions or any other laws. Collectively often called Supreme Court. The Supreme or high court is usually the trial court or court of first instance, while the court of appeal carries out the appellate function of the Supreme Court.  PRIVY COUNCIL (ENGLAND) OR CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE – 5TH TIER Outside of Jamaica Usually, matters of egregious error and a substantial miscarriage of justice Cost to appeal to the Privy Council is a deterrent for persons 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 18 THE COURT OF APPEAL – 4TH TIER – SUPERIOR COURT OR COURT OF RECORD Headed by six (6) judges Judges appointed by the Governor General on recommendation of the judicial services commission Chief Justice and President of the C of A appointed GG on recommendation from PM Judges must be attorneys for at least 10 years Is a member of the bar of either Jamaica, England Scotland or Northern Ireland JURISDICTION OF COURTS OF APPEAL Appellate jurisdiction only Do not sit with a jury because they are not concerned with reviewing the evidence or facts in a case They adjudicate on matters of the law An uneven number of judges constitute a court of appeal, usually three. They hear appeals from Parish courts (RM courts), family court and high courts and the high courts or superior courts of first instance or specialized courts in certain matters (eg divorce)  JURISDICTION APPEAL Procedure governed by statue. It may confirm, overturn or vary judgements in any cases Civil proceedings Criminal proceedings Appeals are as a right only in exceptional cases such as an alleged violation of constitutional rights. Other cases require leave to appeal Tribunal Orders http://supremecourt.gov.jm/content/court-structure-and-hierarchy21 COURT OF APPEAL In the majority of cases, the decisions of the Court of Appeal may be subject to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (The Privy Council). 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 22  SUPREME COURT – 3RD TIER ON THE JUSTICE SYSTEM STRUCTURE Highest first instance court (means that cases can be tried there) Superior court of record - utilization of verbatim writers to record transcripts of court proceedings which are kept for years (approx. 7 yrs statutory) Unlimited jurisdiction – can hear matters from all 14 parishes  SUPREME COURT? Divisions: (Criminal, Civil, Commercial, Review/Constitutional Divisions) Two divisions of the Supreme Court were established after independence, the Revenue Court, in 1971, and the Gun Court, created in 1974. A third division, the Commercial Court, was added much later in February 2001. Revenue and Review/Constitutional Courts Civil and criminal divisions.  FAMILY MATTERS DEALT WITH IN THE SUPREME COURT? Divorce, nullity and all applications ancillary to those proceedings; Application for the division of matrimonial property; Applications for custody Applications for the appointment of legal guardian; and Application for a declaration of paternity  CIRCUIT COURT SITTINGS Hilary Term – (January to March) Easter Term – (April to July) Summer/Special Sitting (certain parishes sit during late July to early September in order to clear the backlog of cases) Michaelmas Term – (September to December) NB: Gun Court (Kingston) and Western Regional Gun Court (WRGC) sit right throughout the year except on weekends and public holidays COURTROOM SETUP  PARISH COURT (RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT) -2ND TIER Intermediate court of record Inferior court of record Governed entirely by statue One judge sitting – His/Her Honour One in every parish 2 Divisions civil and criminal matters Has limited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters Matters of up to Ja$1M & 250,000 for civil matters PARISH COURT (RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT) -2ND TIER Resident Magistrate’s Court has no power to hold a trial for certain criminal offences including murder, treason and rape, however in such cases a Preliminary Examination or enquiry into the charge is held. In this enquiry, unlike a trial where the objective is to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty, the purpose is to determine whether the evidence is sufficient for the accused to stand trial at the Supreme Court. Appeals are heard in Court of Appeals RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT NOW PARISH COURT Jurisdiction of the Court are: Family Court Gun Court Traffic Court Coroner’s Court Small Claims Drug Court Night Court Tax Court FAMILY MATTERS DEALT WITH AT THE PARISH COURT LEVEL Applications for Maintenance of Children Applications for Maintenance of Spouse Applications for Custody (provision under the Children (Guardianship and Custody) Act Applications for the Protection from Domestic Violence Applications for the Declaration of Paternity Applications for the Declaration of Property Ownership (Property (Rights of Spouses) Act Applications for Adoption 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 31  LAY MAGISTRATES’ COURT (PETTY SESSIONS COURT) – INFERIOR COURTS OR COURTS OF SUMMARY JURISDICTION -1ST TIER Presided over by 3 Justices of the Peace Needs at least 2 JPs to be properly constituted Can issue warrants for not obeying a summons. Cases heard are minor criminal/lesser judicial matters between parties – threats, stone throwing, resisting arrest, using indecent language, assaulting a Police officer  LAY MAGISTRATES’ (PETTY SESSIONS) COURT Have no appellate jurisdiction Comprise magistrates’ courts and petty sessions courts Petty sessions courts have largely criminal jurisdiction. Empowered to issue summons and warrants for arrest and may grant bail for persons under arrest Appeals are usually to the Parish Court then to the Court of Appeal  EXPERT WITNESS Generally only an expert witness may give opinions and draw conclusions. An expert witness is “one who by reason or specialized experience possesses superior knowledge respecting a subject about which persons having no particular training are incapable of forming an accurate or deducing correct conclusions. A witness who has been qualified as an expert and who thereby will be allowed (through his/her answers to questions posed) to assist the jury in understanding complicated and technical subjects not within the understanding of the average lay person.” (Black’s Law Dictionary, 1991) 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 34  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) Used in both criminal and civil proceedings before sentencing Requested by the judge before sentencing A social enquiry report contains information about the defendant in a criminal case his/her social environment and is use to help in sentencing. In the case of civil proceeding eg custody and maintenance orders to assess the parties' living conditions 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 35  THANK YOU 7/1/20XX Pitch deck title 36