( L - R ) Lightbourne, Thwaites - File photos
The Government is reiterating its commitment to the reform of the justice system in the face of growing concerns about the process.
In its election manifesto, the Jamaica Labour Party had declared its commitment to a 10-year justice reform programme supported by the necessary policy decisions and allocation of resources as recommended by the Justice System Reform Task Force.
But persons in the legal fraternity have argued that there has been no tangible move in this direction since the Golding administration took office six months ago.
Estimates of Expenditure
The concerns deepened after the 2008-2009 Estimates of Expenditure was tabled with no clear allocation to the justice reform process.
The issue was placed on the table during last week's meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament with Opposition MP Ronald Thwaites leading the questioning of Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne.
Thwaites noted that in Opposition Lightbourne supported the justice reform process and questioned what plans were on the table to move the process forward.
But Lightbourne pointed to a note in the Estimates which listed one of the priorities of the justice ministry for the fiscal year as the Justice System Transformation.
Lightbourne argued that while there was no allocation for the reform process, more than $200 million had been provided for individual components.
In addition, the Canadian International Development Agency and the European Union will provide Jamaica with grant funding for the project this year.
"You won't see it as a comprehensive unit, we picked out some priority areas and moved with those," said Lightbourne.
"They reflect the priorities of the transformation exercise," she added.
The justice minister also noted that plans were in place to establish the court service agency this year.
This will give the chief justice autonomy with regards to accounting, auditing and human resource management.
Clerk of the courts will also become assistant prosecutors in an effort to reduce the backlog of cases in the Resident Magistrate's Courts.
A number of courthouses should also be constructed and improved during the year with $437 million allocated.
