Benjamin Demands Improved Judicial System

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Friday, 23 December 2011 02:30

By Colin Sampson

Antigua St John's - MP for St John's City South Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin has called for urgent improvements to the way justice is administered in Antigua & Barbuda.

He demanded “real action” to repair the dysfunctional justice system, including the floating of a joint OECS bond issue – similar to that supporting the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to provide the regional lower-level courts with much-needed financial independence.

Identifying the current state of the judicial system as his number one concern, Benjamin noted that owing to “tremendous neglect,” the High Court is now closed most of the time, opening only from 8 am to noon.

When it does sit, the court now operates from four different locations around St John's: the Industrial Court, the Magistrate's Court, the Intellectual Property Office, and even the conference room of the attorney general’s chambers. This leads to considerable confusion as litigants wander around trying to find out where their cases are being heard.

Benjamin referred to conditions at the All Saints Magistrate's Court, where litigants must await the court’s attention while sitting on benches under a mango tree. Further, he said, conditions had at one time been so bad at the St John's Magistrate's Court that businessman Peter Blanchard felt moved to purchase air conditioning units for the facility. However, administrative obstacles led to the donor being unable to maintain the units, with unfortunate results.

The court systems are now so inadequate, Benjamin said, that matters introduced into the Magistrate's Court are now being set for hearing in May 2012.

The MP and attorney attributed the horrendous state of affairs to what he termed “maladministration, ineptitude, and inefficiency” displayed by those whose business it is to maintain the judicial machinery in decent working order.

As a result, he said, litigants are waiting sometimes five to six years to have their cases heard. This results in so inordinate a delay that the delivery of justice itself may be said to have been compromised. Despite longstanding and continual complaints from members of the legal fraternity, little or nothing had been done to address serious deficiencies, leading to the current sorry situation.

Benjamin made his remarks on the Colin Sampson Show. The full interview is available in the Caribarena.com video archive.

Demanding that the appropriate authorities take immediate action to rectify the problems, the MP said, “Something has to be done now.” He described judges and staff as “falling like flies,” as the dysfunctional air conditioning system infected them with spores and bacteria.


Tests, he reported, showed that the carbon monoxide level inside the courtrooms were as high as 800 parts, far exceeding the safe limit of 200 parts. Benjamin described how, in the course of litigating a matter, lawyers Datadin and Dorsett had to ask that proceedings be brought to a halt as the presiding judge fell ill before their eyes.

Characterizing the present conditions as a retreat to the “primitive days” of the colonial era, Benjamin described jury selection in a murder trial as taking place in the cramped conditions of the attorney general’s conference room, with 40 prospective jurors confronting the accused at close quarters, and the court clerk standing in a corner.

The member of Parliament is calling for “real action” to repair the dysfunctional justice system. He proposed that greater efficiencies be observed at the Ministry of Public Works, for example, to secure additional funding for the court system. Other reductions in waste – such as excessive government travel can also be applied, Benjamin said.

Benjamin also proposed that the OECS states merge their wasteful and duplicate individual overseas embassies, freeing up even more funding for the beleaguered regional court systems. He also made a strong pitch for people in the region to see the CCJ as a necessary, natural, and inevitable progression in national development.

In the course of a wide-ranging conversation, the MP touched on subjects such as alternative sentencing and the need for a “Rehabilitation of Offenders” Act. He also said that regional judges are retiring at too young an age, and should remain on the bench until at least the age 70.

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Benjamin characterized the recent break-in and theft of files at the High Court as “regrettable,” noting that a prudent administration, aware of recent similar occurrences, would have put a proper security and surveillance mechanism in place.

Finally, the MP wished all and sundry – and in particular his constituents in St John's City South – a Merry Christmas and a bright and prosperous New Year.

Benjamin apologized to his constituents for not being able to provide the usual Christmas treats in a time of austerity.

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