Judge-alone trials to be made permanent

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant shift in the justice system, as judge-alone trials were introduced through ‘sunrise legislation’.

This measure has now been recommended to be made a permanent feature of the justice system, as per a letter received by Attorney General, Sir Steadroy Benjamin, from the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

The government has been urged to retain this measure, as it has proved to be an effective way to ensure the safety of both judges and jurors during the pandemic, while also ensuring that cases are heard in a timely and efficient manner.

“The head of the court system recommended that the law which permits for a judge-alone trial be made permanent, eliminating the sunset clause which appeared in the law at first. The Chief Justice applauded Antigua and Barbuda for being the first in the O.E.C.S. jurisdiction to have adopted the law, causing the jurisdiction to join Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago in the region,” according to Cabinet sources.

Several countries and regions have adopted the measure of conducting judge-alone trials by legislation, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In Antigua and Barbuda, the Cabinet has decided to make this kind of trial a permanent feature of the legal system by amending the law.

The law setting up the judge-alone trials was initially due to expire in May, but the Attorney General has held consultations with key stakeholders, such as the Bar Association and criminal attorneys, to understand how the government should proceed on the matter.

Attorney General says, all stakeholders are in favour of the judge-alone trial system and have requested the government to continue with it.

The judge-alone trials became necessary when COVID-19 protocols made it difficult to have juries preside over trials.