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This means that the police investigators will have to ensure that the case files for all accused persons are complete, or else the charge will be thrown out, rather than face an endless stream of adjournments:

Justice Kenneth Benjamin - Chief Justice of Belize
"The most significant step has been the drafting of criminal procedure rules. These rules prescribe time limits for the disposition of criminal cases incorporating the principle of active case management by the courts themselves. Under the rules, no person should await trial in Supreme Court for more than 2 years, which shorter time limits being applied to persons in custody and remand and to magistrate court matters tried summarily. Adjournments are to be limited and the early identification of trial issues will be sought through the completion of pre-trial case management forms. As the ultimate sanction, judges and magistrates would be empowered and would be expected to dismiss cases not ready for trial within the time limit. These rules are in the final stage of preparation and expected to come in force by early February 2015."

And what about the low conviction rate for murder? Quite regularly, we report on murder cases in which the accused gets acquitted because their confession statements are thrown out. Usually they allege brutality or coercion.

To deal with that, police will be given a new set of instructions from the Commissioner of Police on how they will handle prosecution witnesses and accused persons. Part of that standing order will include strict instructions that all statements will be recorded digitally, and submitted as evidence in the trials. Also, police will have to make more detailed reports of the care and custody of accused persons, especially before any criminal charges are formally brought against them.

The Chief Justice announced today that these changes should improve the quality of evidence submitted before the court, hopefully to improve efficiency and conviction rates:

Justice Kenneth Benjamin - Chief Justice of Belize
"To address allegations of police brutality and ultimately to boost the number of statements made on the caution being admitted into evidence, the Commissioner of Police is expected to introduce police guidelines. Say for field interviews, caution statements are to be digitally recorded. The guidelines will also prescribe minimum standards for the care of persons in police custody and require police officers to make a complete record of their treatment of persons in custody. These guidelines will replace the judges' rules and be issued by the Commission of Police. This will serve to put matters back into the hands of the police where they rightfully belong. Recoding equipment for police stations is being sourced through the Central American Regional Security Initiative of the United States Embassy."

Another major challenge in past criminal trials has been witness tampering and intimidation, in which persons who are supposed to testify refuse to show up. Sometimes, witnesses take the stand and refuse to cooperate with the prosecution to give evidence against an accused, and they've also admitted under oath that they fear for their lives.

The Chief Justice announced today that the Legislature is currently finishing up a Witness Protection Bill which will allow for witnesses to be protected, and testify anonymously via video link from undisclosed locations:

Justice Kenneth Benjamin - Chief Justice of Belize
"The draft Protection of Witnesses bill awaits Cabinet approval. This legislation will address the plight of vulnerable witnesses and will provide protective measures for such witnesses and for children when giving evidence. The object is to reduce the intimidatory nature of criminal proceedings. Measures will include the rendering of witnesses anonymous by order of court in deserving cases, allowing witnesses to give evidence behind a screen via video link from a remote location and to be cross examined after a pre-trial recorded interview. This will require a procurement and installation of video equipment. For this, a commitment has been given by the CARSI initiative of the United States Department of State."

The court also recognizes the police department has headaches transporting remanded persons to and from prison for their court dates. According to the Chief Justice, Direct Video Links are contemplated to allow the accused persons to witness their adjournments at Court from the prison, to eliminate the need for transport.

And to deal with backlog of civil cases, the Attorney General and the Government of Belize wants to recruit well-established lawyers from the legal community to act as temporary judges to help the Judiciary. Today, he made the announcement at the opening, and outlined what kind of qualifications the attorneys need to have to qualify:

Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Attorney General
"The Honorable Prime Minister has authorized me to inform you lordship, that our government stands ready to provide whatever funds that may be deemed necessary to pay publicly spirited senior members of the bar who are prepared to temporarily give up their service to the judiciary in an initiative to dispose of all the back log of cases both civil and criminal and who possess the requisite criteria for such an undertaking. Which criteria include irreproachable integrity, solid experience in the practice before the Supreme Court, demonstrated wisdom, intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the law, judicial temperament and the ability to communicate well orally and in writing. I am sure that there are many of my colleagues on the bar who qualify for these services."

According to Elrington, this has been done in the past to measured success.