BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—Attorney General Dale Marshall has disclosed an increase in litigation against the State due to the delay in adjudicating cases.
He said this has resulted in the Government shelling out significant compensation amounts.
“We are seeing more and more cases being filed against the State alleging breach of constitutional rights because justice has been delayed. It’s an undeniable right and truth,” he said at the swearing-in of the country’s new Chief Justice Leslie Haynes.
“We can’t keep paying compensation to litigants who make those claims while at the same time funding the judicial system as is needed. We expect that the more we fund the judicial system, the fewer things we should get; it’s been the reverse.
However, Marshall expressed confidence that Haynes could tackle the backlog of cases: “I am sure that Chief Justice Haynes is up to the task.”
The Attorney General said the Government would continue to implement necessary mechanisms to reduce the court system’s backlog.
He pointed to efforts already made, including increasing judiciary and judicial assistants and making the necessary technological resources available.
“Certainly, about the criminal backlog, we’ve seen tremendous results. However, we have to redouble our efforts to make sure that we can get that done about the civil side of things.
“The Chief Justice will now have to determine what resources he needs. For example, in the area of court transcription, we’ve just hired an additional 10 or 12 people to be able to take the verbatim evidence. They are undergoing special training now, and that training is expected to be completed by September so that they will be in place at the start of the new court year.
“So, the backlog is huge, but it is not beyond us,” the AG said.
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