Chief Justice, Hon. Bryan Sykes, says the court system could be operating fully on the digital Judicial Case Management System (JCMS) by December this year. The platform is designed to facilitate jury selection management, case flow and scheduling, and transcript production. “All being well, that, now will lay the foundation for continued improvement [and] efficiency [of the system],” Mr. Sykes said.
He was speaking during the opening ceremony for Hilary Term of the Home Circuit Court in Kingston, on Friday (January 7). Mr. Sykes advised that several courts and divisions are already utilising the system. These are the Court of Appeal; Revenue and Gun Courts; the St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland, and Trelawny Family Courts; and the St. Elizabeth and St. Mary Parish Courts, along with the Criminal Registry.
Mr. Sykes said those slated to be on-boarded by the end of April are Parish Courts in Trelawny, Portland, Clarendon (at Chapelton), St. Thomas, and Westmoreland, and the Manchester and St. Ann Family and Parish Courts. He further indicated that between May and July, Parish Courts in St. Ann (at Brown’s Town), St. James, Clarendon, and Hanover will be placed on the system.
“We expect that by mid-year we would have at least half the courts, if not more, on the JCMS system,” the Chief Justice added. He also advised that the High Court (Civil and Matrimonial Divisions), the Estate Division, and the Western Regional Registry are expected to be on the JCMS by September. The Chief Justice further informed that by December 2022, the Corporate Area Criminal, Civil and Family Courts, the Tax Court, the Coroner’s and Special Coroner’s Courts, and the St. Catherine Parish Court will be on-boarded.
Mr. Sykes said the web-based system’s introduction is a “very significant development in the life of our judiciary.” “We will get to the point where we will have electronic filing; [and] where we are heading with that, ultimately, is [to have] electronic transfer of files between courts, so [that] we reduce reliance on paper. We are heading in the right direction [and] this should bring about significant efficiency,” he stated.
