Court of Appeal clears more cases than filed for three consecutive years

For three consecutive years, the Court of Appeal has disposed of more cases than were newly filed, according to Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.

“Most recently, last year, according to our statistician, it’s 117.94 per cent, and this makes our Court of Appeal one of the most productive courts in the Commonwealth Caribbean,” he said.

Justice Sykes was addressing a swearing-in ceremony at King’s House on Monday, September 1, where five members of the judiciary were appointed to permanent posts and another five to higher office for the Circuit Courts’ Michaelmas Term.

He noted that discussions about efficiency within the judicial system are often met with the argument that it runs counter to the principles of justice.

“So far, from the data here and in other well-run court systems, there is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that when courts are efficient, the quality of justice is undermined. In fact, what the evidence shows is that it’s the contrary. The longer the cases take, [the] worse the quality of justice. So that is why performance standards matter,” the chief justice reasoned.

He urged critics to examine the data and the case law emerging from the Court of Appeal and determine whether increased efficiency has led to any diminution in the quality of its decisions.

Meanwhile, Sykes acknowledged that although the Supreme Court has not yet reached its optimal performance level, its operational efficiency has improved significantly.

He said the Supreme Court has achieved an overall clearance rate of 83 per cent for the first time in living memory or recorded history.

“That is some 17 per cent below where we need to be, but, nonetheless, we have to be thankful because we are coming from below 40 per cent. So we are moving in the right direction,” the chief justice stated.

JIS