CHIEF Justice Bryan Sykes has committed to instituting measures to further improve service delivery across the judicial system.
Among these, he says, are steps to ensure the delivery of outstanding judgements in the Supreme Court by December 31, 2019.
Justice Sykes said that as of 2020, a judgement should be delivered within 90 days, “and in exceptional cases, 180 days following the completion of the case”.
He further indicated that the Court of Appeal’s case disposal rate should also increase, consequent on the appointment of three additional judges in January, with another three later this year.
The chief justice, in a national broadcast on Sunday, made it clear that unnecessary delays will not be accommodated. “Our goal is to decrease the waiting time for the adjudication of some matters,” said Justice Sykes.
He noted, for example, that in the issuance of a decree absolute in divorce matters will be within 16 weeks, once the documents are submitted error-free, while advising that by December 31, 2019, “there will be no outstanding divorces”.
In relation to matters of probate and letters of administration intended to establish the validity of wills and dealing with the estates of persons who have died without leaving a will, Justice Sykes indicated that once all relevant documents are submitted error-free, the Supreme Court’s staff will ensure these are settled within 12 weeks.
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