Jamaica's justice system will in the next nine months undergo a comprehensive review costing about $104 million. The process will be led by a team of legal experts from the Canadian Bar Association, which was selected for the job after a competitive tendering process.

The first of its kind locally, the initiative is intended to transform the face of justice, and to deliver a modern, dynamic and responsive system.

The Jamaican Government is spending $45 million on the project while the Canadian International Development Agency has provided nearly $60 million towards the review.

Speaking Thursday evening at a contract signing at Jamaica House, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said her first commitment to the Jamaican people at her inauguration in March was to advance human rights and individual liberty. In this regard, the Prime Minister said she was grateful for the project, because there can be no peace without justice.

Cry for justice

Acknowledging that the cry for justice can be heard constantly in the local media, Mrs. Simpson Miller said it was important that the country develop a modern and effective justice system.

She said an excellent justice system supports the country in its fight against crime and violence.

Justice Minister A.J. Nicholson explained that the review would involve detailed consultations with all stakeholders, including members of the public. He said the Canadian legal experts would work alongside Jamaican professionals in the Justice Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, the Cabinet Office and the judiciary.

The Canadian Bar Association has delivered justice system reform and modernisation programmes in 28 countries across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and central Europe.