If you were in trouble and needed a court hearing today, you would have been out of luck that is because most of the lawyers, and all of the judges and magistrates were at the Biltmore Hotel. The occasion was the 8th Bench and Bar Summit. It is an annual meeting of Belize's legal community. Every Judge, every Magistrate, about 80 lawyers, and for the first time the Court Of Appeal judges, participated. It was presided over by the highest officer in Belize's judiciary - Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh. He told us this year's summit is all about making justice user friendly.
Abdulai Conteh, Chief Justice
"How to make the rules more user friendly, the courtroom itself user friendly, and judges in the timeliness of hearing cases, not to encourage adjournments and to give timely delivery of judgment."
Keith Swift,
So is it an issue that really needs addressing? Is that a problem?
Abdulai Conteh,
"Well it is a problem. It is always a continuing problem, not only in Belize, in most jurisdictions of the world. So what we're trying to do at this conference is having participants from Jamaica for example sharing experiences with us on how we can alleviate these problems."
Keith Swift,
Why is this summit important? Why is it important for lawyers and judges to meet and have this discussion?
Abdulai Conteh,
"It is the first time the Court of Appeal judges have been able to take part in the annual Bench and Bar and it enables us to meet extra-judicially, no status but just simply to think outside the box, if you will, how to get solutions to these problems."
Keith Swift,
Will anything come from this or is this just talk?
Abdulai Conteh,
"Certainly, without a question. For example one of the themes, recurring themes is legal aid: how arduous it is to have an undefended defendant go through, if you will, the mill of a criminal trial. So the Bar Association has been charged with the task, with the Attorney General's office, to see how provisions, sustainable provisions, can be made in this regard which will improve the quality of justice."
The first Bench and Bar Summit was held in 1999 and focuses on a different subject every year.
