Guyana Observer News

$ 1.7B earmarked for justice system

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

2010 Budget…

Sample Image

Some $1.7B has been budgeted in 2010 for improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the justice sector in Guyana. This disclosure was made by the Finance Minister Ashni Singh during his address to Parliament in his budget speech on Monday. Of that sum some $322.5M has been allocated for the implementation of several reform measures. The minister noted that a strategic plan for mediation as well as mediation referral guidelines is being developed and is expected to be completed soon. This plan, the minister says, is intended to reduce the excessive amounts of cases that are filed in the High Court. It is also intended to reduce the amount of cases requiring adjudication by a judge.

It is anticipated that approximately 5,500 cases of the backlog will be disposed in 2010. In addition, the Time Limit for Judicial Decisions Act which was passed in 2009 is expected to contribute further to a timely conclusion of matters before the courts.
The minister explained that the application of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategy would serve to advance the sector with the piloting of a digital speech recording system in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal later this year.
The pilot would be evaluated six months after implementation to determine the feasibility of the implementation countrywide.
With this application it is expected that it would significantly reduce the time taken to record evidence in the courtroom.
CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS COUNTRYWIDE
A total of $121.8M has been budgeted for the construction and maintenance of courts countywide, with some $45.9M being allocated for the completion of the first ever family court. The family court is expected to deal with matters such as divorce, division of property, domestic matters, adoption, guardianship and custody.
In addition, $26M will go towards the construction of a Magistrate’s court and office at Lethem, while $19.3M has been allocated for the completion of the Charity and Leonora Magistrate Courts. A further $27.2M is expected to be spent on maintenance of the High Court and Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Last year government had allocated $1.4B to the justice system. Minister Singh noted that $248M was spent on enhancing the efficiency of the process of dealing with the criminal and civil cases within the system. He pointed out that an action plan for the strengthening of the functional and operational was established between the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police.
The minister further noted that over 45 state and police prosecutors were trained in detecting evidentiary weakness in cases.
He added that drafted guidelines for the Civil Procedure Rules were completed and they were circulated to the judges for further advice. The new rules he says would place stronger emphasis on time management of the cases, case conferences and mediation.

Add comment

JComments

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

Our Staff

M.Benschop
Publisher
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

A. Reteymyer - Editor in Chief

Sharda Dasrat - Editor

Our Contact Address

USA OFFICE
4710 Church Avenue,
Brooklyn New York.
Tel: 718-462-2020

GUYANA OFFICE
313 East Street
Georgetown
GUYANA
Tele: 011-592-227-8057
011-592-227-8113
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mission Statement

The Mark Benschop Foundation was officially launched in March 2008 by its founder and chairman Mark Benschop and other concerned Guyanese and well wishers in the United States of America. What started as a small operation geared toward helping those in need has grown so large that they were forced to move their offices to a whole building in East Street where the vast amount of people responding to their generosity could be accommodated.

Foundation Membership Form

Application form for any person applying for membership in The Mark Benschop Foundation.

Please download and print out the membership application form and send completed form to our office nearest to you.

Download Membership form.doc

Don't be left out! Join the Movement of Change for a better Guyana

Do your part to rid Guyana of the racial and backward politics that is slowly taking over the country. Join us in giving hope to the people of Guyana regardless of their ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

Visitors Counter

You are visitor # 5941636 . Thank you!

Online Radio

Latest News

Contribute to our Website

Anyone wishing to contribute articles or letters to The Guyana Observer News, can email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Are you looking for the best prices in town, Realiable service and door to door pick up and delivery? Then contact Williams Caribbean Shipping today. Mention that you saw this ad on our website and receive a 10% discount!