Appeal Court needs more judges - Forte

Forte

Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

THE soaring crime rate over the last five years has been adding to the workload of judges in the Court of Appeal, the nation's highest court.

The seven judges are having difficulty completing judgments on time in complex criminal cases because the workload is too much for them to cope with.

The numerous civil cases being filed daily in the Court of Appeal have also contributed to the large volume of cases before that court.

"If we could get some more judges, then judges would have time out of court to write judgments," the Hon. Ian Forte, Q.C., President of the Court of Appeal, said.

He disclosed that representation had been made to the Government for an increase in the number of judges in the Court of Appeal and that he had been informed that the matter was being considered.

Currently, Justice Forte said, two panels of judges sit weekly. However, there is need for three panels to be sitting. Three judges sit on a panel in the Court of Appeal. While the six judges are sitting, the seventh judge hears chamber matters.

The number of judges in the Court of Appeal was last increased 34 years ago. The amendment to the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction ) Act in 1967 states that the composition of the court shall be a President and "not less than three nor more than six other judges."

But the judges of the Court of Appeal have complained that they are "overburdened" with work.

The situation is "really terrible", Mr. Justice Seymour Panton, a judge of the Court of Appeal, said on Friday.

He said judges got no break because "even on Christmas Day I have to be writing judgments and it is not because we are not up to the task."

He said they were engaged in reading and writing judgments every day. He explained that the work had become "much, much more complex" and appeal cases were lasting for weeks and months.

Justice Panton said his personal view was that the authorities were doing nothing about the situation. He said judges enjoyed their work and did not spend too much time complaining about the situation "but our families are suffering because the time we should be spending with our families, we spend it doing work and we don't get any thanks."

Three months to six months would be a reasonable time within which to hand down judgments after the submissions were completed, but he said that most times, it was impossible to do so because while they were considering a matter, they were still in court doing other cases. He said his regular workday lasted 16 hours.

Justice Panton did not mince words when he spoke about a judge's salary which he said was far from reasonable. "The Government set up statutory bodies and the Government has no problem paying their heads and their underlings vast sums of money but squabble about paying the judges a reasonable salary," he said.

During 1999 there were 143 civil appeals and 212 criminal appeals filed in the Court of Appeal Registry. Added to that list were 98 civil cases and 66 criminal appeals which were pending from 1998.

The records in the Court of Appeal Registry show that at the end of December 31, 1999 there were 130 civil cases and 192 criminal cases pending. The statistics for 2000 have not yet been completed. A total of 206 criminal cases and 149 civil cases were filed in 2000 and so far this year, 173 criminal appeal cases and 117 civil cases have been filed.

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