And, today, the speeches were all virtual - recorded last week and premiered today in a pre-edited YouTube package. Same for the inspection of the guard of honor - which was done on Friday.
The only public, in-person event held today was the church service - and that's where Jules Vasquez picks up his commentary on a ceremonial opening he's witnessed easily - two dozen times:
Led by Chief Justice Louise Blenman - the legal community from the bench and the bar - gathered at Wesley Church this morning for the annual ecumenical service.
Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General
"It might be lost at times of the great significance of the ceremonial opening of the legal year proceeded as it is with an ecumenical church service. It might be lost that it is not a matter simply of pomp and circumstance, but that it is an important, significant tradition going back to the Middle Ages of judges praying for guidance at the start of the legal term."
And that guidance may have also led the court to save itself from the annual embarrassment of the procession down Regent Street. And with good reason this year because - with the exception of a couple familiar faces - the judges are all foreign and mostly newcomers.
In a weird carryover from COVID - for the third year running - the entire event was pre-recorded and then released this morning on YouTube. The inspection of the guard was done on Friday:
Set to a lively tune, the inspection - while formal - did not seem too severe or lifeless. For that we have the speeches - given, one presumes, to an empty courtroom, to a less than sanguinary audience of camera operators and technicians - this, the centerpiece of a sort of sanitized opening where the gaggle is kept out of the courtroom - indeed, the courthouse - to give way to a manicured teleprompter appearance.
In the old days, you could see public sparring between the jousting bench and bar - today's event, by contrast, seemed sterile, and about as electric as a dead eel - with the Chief Justice,The President of the Bar and the Attorney General all contentedly on the same tattered page, halfway between reform and revolt by junior legal officers.
Andrew Marshalleck, President of the Bar
"As we confronted unresolved deficiencies in the system, new ones reared their heads. In particular, the recruitment process did not produce the appointment of any Belizean national to any judicial post on the revision of salaries and benefits to facilitate new recruitments exposed and highlighted deficiencies in existing salaries structures generally. With regard to the first issue, all vacant posts are widely advertised on applications were invited from all across the Caribbean and indeed the globe. We have seen a dearth of applications from Belizean nationals. Belizean nationals cannot, of course, be considered for appointment to these posts if they choose not to apply for consideration. I wish to publicly urge all interested members of the bar to submit applications for appointment to any judicial post in which they might be interested."
"The need to address salaries and benefits to judicial and legal officers is well known and indeed is reflective of a more insidious problem confronting the administration of justice in Belize. That is the need for financial independence. Time has come for us to treat the financial needs of the administration of justice with the prominence it deserves."
And respect for the independent judiciary was a recurring theme in today's event:
Louise Blenman, Chief Justice
"Looking forward, we assure you that the senior courts will continue to serve the public with greater effective ness while taking steps to improve how we treat court users."
"We will continue to place a high priority on and intensify our efforts to provide increased access to justice and enhancing our court's ability to serve the public."
We'll have a little more from the Supreme Court opening in tomorrow's news.
