This morning, the Supreme Court opened this year=s session. It was an opening that saw the formal swearing in of two new justices along with other major changes in the judiciary with the formal announcement of Aldo Salazar taking over as the new Registrar, and a Lutchman Sooknandan taking over as the new Director of Public Prosecutions. Here are the highlights of this most ceremonious day on the judicial calendar.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
At 9 this morning the legal community including lawyers, magistrates and judges gathered at Wesley Church for a service on the occasion of the opening of the Supreme Court session for this year. After the gathering those in attendance marched over to the Supreme Court building for the inspection of the guard of honor by the Chief Justice.
[Inspection of guard of honor]
Then it was on to business, first on the agenda was the swearing in of two new justices to the bench.
Abdulai Conteh, Chief Justice of Belize
"On behalf of my colleagues and on my own personal account, Mister Justice Herbert Lord, Madam Justice Minnette Hafiz-Bethram to the bench of the Supreme Court of Belize. I heartily congratulate them on their elevation to the rank of Justices of the Supreme Court. I have every confidence that they will live up to the expectations of the office of a judge and the public generally. The appointment of the two new judges should, it is hopes, put an end to the seemingly perennial shortage of judges that has bedeviled the administration of justice in Belize for quite some time. This has in the past been a constant refrain of mine as it put an intolerable burden on the available judicial manpower to deal with the every increasingly both criminal and civil cases."
While the addition of Justices Lord and Bethram to the Supreme Court will help the dealing of cases at that level, Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh commented on the centralizing of all the courts into one location, lamenting on problems that the move will inevitably cause because of lack of space.
Abdulai Conteh,
"However much has the refurbishing of the Registry and the new accommodations for the Magistrate and Family Courts are appreciated, it has soon become evident that the space is just not enough and this will no doubt give rise to a new set of problems. Any wish list therefore for the administration of justice in Belize must now include a custom built edifice devoted to the lower courts of this country. We never had one in the colonial days but as an independent country, it is about time we had one. The need for sufficient financial resources for the judiciary should always be paramount in the mind of the decision makers. This is so because it is inarguable that a well resourced satisfied, competent, and able judiciary is vital to the political stability and economic progress and development of any country, including Belize."
After addressing the operational difficulties of the system Conteh moved on to the matter of crime, underscoring the point that last year was a particularly busy one for criminals.
Abdulai Conteh,
"Two trends are readily discernable from the numbers. One of them is decidedly disturbing and it speaks to the increasing spate of criminal offenses and some of these are serious crimes of violence including murder, harm and wounding, and sexual offenses. Thirty four cases of murder were dealt with by the courts, sixty cases of rape and carnal knowledge, and twenty one cases of attempted murder. The year 2006 was on the whole a very busy one for criminals. This was must be disturbing to all of us as a society. I have mentioned that the criminals were very busy last year, indeed the rate of homicide, sexual offenses against minors were also at an all time high as was the intolerable, grossly intolerable incidents of domestic violence."
And while crime was on the rise the Chief Justice asked that those responsible to detain crime and criminals, the Police Department and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions have better working relationship.
Abdulai Conteh,
"It is important that no mixed or wrong signals are sent out to the criminal elements. This, I venture to urge, require sustained coordination and cooperation between the DPP's office and the rank and file of the Police Department. It is therefore disheartening to hear of talk of disharmony between these two very important stakeholders in law enforcement. I can then only express the hope that these two vital institutions will work harmoniously to put the criminals on the run. They owe this to the rest of us in Belize. May I therefore take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Lutchman Sooknandan, the new Director of Public Prosecutions, and Miss Cheryl Lynn Branker-Taitt, the new Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions."
And while the CJ looked at the judicial system from the perspective of those who ensure law and order in his remarks Attorney General Francis Fonseca looked at the issue of legal aid which was introduced as an act last year. This will see the implementation of a multi-sectoral body chaired by the bar association to ensure legal recourse for those who can least afford it.
Hon. Francis Fonseca, Attorney General
"The duty of the council shall be to coordinate and implement the provisions of legal aid and advice, to receive for this purpose money appropriated by the National Assembly and from any other lawful sources to set tariffs of fees to be used in paying attorneys and to administer a system for such payments. Additionally the council will be vested with powers to determine the eligibility of applicants for the services of the center based on their economic means as defined under regulations, to establish the enabling framework under which aid will be made available and to publicize the nature and extent of the legal services available."
Also announced at today's opening was the introduction of a system at the Supreme Court to have victims of crimes be able to share their experiences with the court after their cases are concluded.
