THE MINISTRY of Justice has restructured its monitoring system for the disbursement
of payments to jurors. This process is aimed at ensuring that jurors are aware
of and take steps to collect their payment cheques at designated locations.
The Ministry found it necessary to revamp the procedure for juror payments, as auditing operations have found that the majority of complaints about non-payment are based on the non-collection of cheques.
The new measure was implemented in September 2003, during which time some $1.8 million was paid out to 470 citizens who served as jurors. Some $1.2 million, or 68 per cent of the aggregate payment in that month, was paid to jurors in the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine. About $28 million was paid out for jury service between fiscal years 2000-01 and 2002-03. A stipend of $500 per day is paid to persons who serve as jurors.
The jury system is a critical component in the administration of justice in Jamaica. The Jury Act of 1898 is the primary piece of legislation dealing with the jury system. It sets out, for example:
- qualifications for jury service
- categories of persons who are exempt from this civic duty
- method of selecting jurors to serve in sessions of the Circuit Court
or Supreme Court trial in the of civil cases
- process of summoning and compelling attendance of jurors in courts
- the number of jurors required to try a case and how they are selected
or empanelled.
The Ministry of Justice is only concerned with the payment of jurors' allowances and does not carry out any of the functions set out above which are, in the main, carried out by administrative and quasi-judicial members of staff in the judicial arm of government.
