OPENING OF THE 2010 SUPREME COURT SESSION

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000053 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV BH SUBJECT: OPENING OF THE 2010 SUPREME COURT SESSION REF: BELMOPAN 305 ¶1. SUMMARY: On January 18, 2010, the formal opening of the Supreme Court was marked by a church ceremony and addresses delivered by Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh (CJ) and Attorney General and Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington (AG). In their statements, the CJ and AG sought to end tensions from 2009, as well as to review the 2009 performance of the judiciary. Both speakers talked about challenges of the year ahead, specifically the expected decreases in available resources, the possible changes to Supreme Court judges, and the impending enactment and implementation of accession to the Caribbean Court of Justice. END SUMMARY. -------------- Judicial Tensions in 2009 -------------- ¶2. The formal opening of the legal year of the Supreme Court was held on January 18, 2010. The 2010 opening ceremony speakers sought to bury minor strains among the judiciary, the Attorney General and the Bar Association. At the opening of last year's session, CJ Conteh was critical of the recurrent underfunding of the judiciary stating that it failed to "reflect the important role expected of the judiciary in national affairs." In a scathing response, AG Elrington lamented the long delays in the issuance of judgments and noted that members of the judiciary are among the most highly paid public officers. In September 2009, the Belize Bar Association echoed the AG's criticism when it publicly expressed discontent over delayed judgments and even called for the resignation of Supreme Court Judge Samuel Awich. The most recent address of the CJ highlights the improved performance of the judiciary in working its 2009 caseload and called for a more constructive approach in tackling the problems facing the judiciary. For his part, the AG apologized publicly for his comments the previous year. -------------- Budget Cuts -------------- ¶3. The CJ, nevertheless, restated his plea for additional resources to support the judiciary. In making a case, the CJ quoted George Washington saying that "the true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government." The CJ's appeal, however, comes during a recessionary period when GOB expects to undertake across-the-board budget cuts. For the fiscal year 2009-2010, the budget allocation to the judiciary represented 1.03% of the national budget. For the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the budget allocation to the judiciary is expected to decrease by 10% from BZ $7.09 million (US $ 3.545 million) to approximately BZ $6.38 million (US $3.19 million). -------------- Judges for the Superior Court -------------- ¶4. The Superior Courts, which currently have a complement of 14 judges, are comprised of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Five judges are appointed to the Court of Appeal with the other nine judges, including the Chief Justice, being appointed to the Supreme Court. While the AG announced that the complement of judges to the Supreme Court will soon be strengthened with the arrival of two more judges from Australia, speculation abounds on whether the CJ will be required to resign from office in 2010. ¶5. Under Belize's Constitution the Chief Justice is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. The Constitution also provides for a Supreme Court judge to hold office until age sixty-five with a possible extension to age seventy-five. There is the precedent of two Supreme Court judges who are presently serving beyond the prescribed retirement age. The CJ will celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday in August of this year; however, it is unclear if his service will be extended. -------------- Judicial Statistics -------------- ¶6. The CJ also reported on the record number of cases which were completed in 2009. The CJ highlighted that Supreme Court is up-to-date for cases already heard with the exception of only three recently concluded cases. In the Supreme Court, 2009 saw a record number of 1,054 cases filed which is an increase of 19% over the 889 claims filed in 2008. The same court in 2009 completed 1,116 cases while 742 cases were completed in 2008. Through the almost simultaneous sitting of the Supreme Court in its three districts, 191 criminal cases were tried on indictment. In 2008, a total of 63 murder cases were tried in the Supreme Court; this number decreased slightly to 56 murder cases tried in 2009. While only 29 cases of attempted murder were tried in 2008, the number increased to 39 cases in 2009. In relation to sexual offenses of rape, carnal knowledge, and unlawful carnal knowledge, 42 cases were tried in 2009, a decrease from 61 cases tried in 2008. ¶7. The Court of Appeal for the same period heard and disposed of 71 criminal and civil appeal cases. In 2008, 47 criminal cases were lodged in the same court with 45 disposed. The Magistrates Court for 2009 was able to deal with 12,072 of the 15,590 criminal cases lodged. Again this represented an improvement over 2008, when 15,043 criminal cases were lodged and 11,928 cases were completed. Overall, the judicial statistics for 2009 suggest that despite an increased work load and decreasing resources, the courts are making a serious effort to complete cases. -------------- Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) -------------- ¶8. In June 2009, GOB introduced a bill for a constitutional amendment that would replace the Privy Council in London with the CCJ as Belize's final appellate court (Ref A). At the recent opening of the Supreme Court, AG Elrington reasserted GOB's commitment to enact and implement accession to the CCJ by the end of 2010. The proposed constitutional amendment for Belize to join the CCJ also contains controversial elements. The proposal would allow members of the National Assembly to have dual citizenship and would remove the requirement for the Attorney General to be a member of the National Assembly. ¶9. COMMENT: Given the complaints of the public in 2009, the judiciary will be expected to continue improving its performance to expeditiously deal with an increasing caseload. This will prove challenging in light of rising crime rates and decreasing budget allocations. Moreover, 2010 could be a transitional year for the judiciary. At the national level, the addition of two judges is a positive development. While it is unlikely that the CJ would be required to vacate his post without a suitable replacement, any change would likely cause additional adjustments. Public opinion has been largely supportive of the CJ who is perceived as a sound administrator and impartial adjudicator. Finally, the most significant transition would be the accession to the appellate jurisdiction of CCJ. For Belize, the link to the Privy Council dates back to the late 1800's. The prospect of dropping affiliation with the Privy Council and linking with the relatively new CCJ is causing a high degree of uncertainty among Belizean legal practitioners. END COMMENT. THUMMALAPALLY