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Supreme Court Opens, Staid Ceremony Doesn't Betray Tensions Between Bench & Bar
posted (January 8, 2018)
Today was the second Monday in January, and as is the tradition, the judiciary and legal fraternity opened the Supreme Court with a ceremony.

Now, as viewers are aware, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin, who presides over the opening, had a tough year last year when he was called out by the Bar Association for the 29 judgments that he had pending, many for several years.

Put to task by the Bar, he had to kick things into overdrive to clear the backlog and deliver those judgments on schedule. And then, there are those persistent reports out of Guyana, that he may be considering a senior judicial appointment in that country.

Well today, he carried on with the ceremonial opening, as though it was business as usual, and our news team was there. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Daniel Ortiz, reporting
The Ceremonial opening of the Supreme Court started, as per tradition, with a mass, presided over by 3 Bishops from the major denominations.

From the Wesley Church, the judges, magistrates, attorneys, and the staff of the courts and the Attorney General's Ministry marched through the end of Albert Street, then Regent Street, and ended in front of the court house. Though we didn't do a head count, it appeared that a large portion of the legal fraternity did not show up. The parade appeared smaller than it usually was.

At the court house, the judges stood, so that the police honor guard could present themselves in front of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin for an inspection.

When all the pomp and ceremony over, everyone went upstairs to hear what the Chief Justice, the Bar Association President, and the Attorney General had to say about this new year and the legal calendar.

Hon. Kenneth Benjamin - Chief Justice of Belize
"This event, though ceremonial in its flavor, is integral to the process of carrying out the constitutional mandate of the judicial arm of the state."

From there, the Chief Justice touched on a wide range of topics, one being the budgetary allocation for the judiciary:

Hon. Kenneth Benjamin
"For the fiscal year 2017- 2018, of the national budget, the judiciary, inclusive of the magistracy, was allocated $9,915,110, which represent approximately 1% of the National Budget for the period 2017-2018."

Another issue of interest for the head of the judiciary is the backlog of cases:

Hon. Kenneth Benjamin
"According to statistics received from the Kolbe Foundation, 424 persons are awaiting trial, 5 persons are awaiting decision, and 2 persons are awaiting sentence, and 1 person is detained pending extradition. Of 230 accused persons awaiting trial in the Supreme 156, or 68.26%, have been in custody over 2 years. As earlier reiterated, the task of the 2 additional judges will be to manage and address the cases of those persons whose time on remand has been lengthy."

So, in the criminal division, 2 temporary judges will be appointed to help dispose of as many of pending criminal cases as possible.

Hon. Kenneth Benjamin
"In the course of 2017, formal notification was received from the Ministry of Finance of budgetary support for the engagement of two temporary judges for the criminal division for a period of 1 year, to deal with the backlog of cases. In furtherance of this most welcomed accommodation, His Excellency, the Governor General, has appointed Mr. Collin Williams, the current Director of Public Prosecutions of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a Justice of the Supreme Court. Mr. Williams has been attorney at law since 1997, and a DPP since 2003, up to the present. It is projected that he will ascend the bench in March 2018. The second temporary judicial position is being actively addressed, and an announcement will be made when the process prescribed by the constitution has run its course."

"The disposal of cases in the criminal division was severely hampered by the absence of one judge from the Central district. Throughout 2017, the list for that court remained at 131 cases. However, with the engagement of 2 additional judges, it is expected that the rate of disposal will be significantly increased."

After the Chief Justice's 30-minute presentation, he opened the floor for the Bar President to speak.

The president touched briefly on the issue of inefficiency that was a flashpoint in relations between the CJ's office and the Bar Association.

Priscilla Banner - President, Bar Association of Belize
"The rendering of justice must not only be fair, but it also must be timely and relevant, for it to be an effective tool for balance and fairness."

"The Bar's message to the Judiciary is that we are each other's keepers. We are the guardians of each other's mandate."

"It means that just as we expect the Judiciary to ensure that attorneys, at all times, do what is required of them, whether through guidance in court, or guidance out of court, through discipline in the JLC. So, too, it is expected that we as attorneys will, whenever it is necessary, do what is expected of us, if we perceive a threat to the integrity and efficiency of the legal system."

"We cannot shirk what is an important part of our mandate, once we do so, after due consideration, with great deliberation and respect, with the sanction of our members, and within the confines of the law. And once we so carry out our mandate, if criticism comes, so be it."

"Our members also, my lord, have a responsibility to each other, as attorneys, to ensure that this noble profession remains above reproach. How, pray tell, can we be the guardians of the administration of justice, if we ourselves are not above reproach."

While the Bar President's address did allude to the tensions between bench and bar - the Attorney General, Michael Peyrefitte, did not add fuel to the fire in the morning's final address.

He spoke briefly about the different departments under his ministry, after which he moved for an adjournment of this Special sitting of the Supreme Court.

Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Attorney General
"And with that, My Lord, thank you, and I now move for the adjournment."

This was the 7th ceremonial opening that Chief Justice Benjamin has led.

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