New direction for justice

Bridgetown.

Several new ideals to improve the the legal system were articulated by new Chief Justice Marton Gibson.

  Speaking at the opening of the legal year 2011 to 2012, Justice Gibson said he was not qualified to speak about the preceding legal year, instead his speech would focus on how he believe the function of the courts can be made more effective and efficient.

The Chief Justice noted that the island's judiciary had been criticized by the Caribbean Court of Justice for tardiness in delivering its decisions, Gibson said this could possibly be solved by decentralization of the decision making process and a greater use of the Civil Prodedure Rules.

He suggested that judges could contemplate the use of law interns to help in writing their decisions.

"Our courts must see the UWI Faculty of Law, the hugh Wooding law and Norman Manley Law Schools, not as a place to churn out new lawyers  but an untapped resource.We pay a lot of money in our tax  dollars to maintain the the faculty and the law schools, so why not?" Gibson said.

Chief Justice Gibson,also praise retired Chief Justice Sir David Simmons who taught him at  the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

"I can only promise now as I did then, to do the best job that I can and so not depoil Sir David's work", he added.