(Barbados Nation) The centuries old tradition of preliminary inquiries as a precursor to High Court trials could soon be a thing of the past.
This has been revealed by Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, who had hinted at the abolition when he made a surprise visit to the Magistrates’ Court last month.
On Monday, Sir David, who was speaking at the opening of the 2009/2010 legal year in the new Barbados Supreme Court Complex, said the time had come for the abolition of the “procedure of long tradition”.
He said one of the recommendations from the 2007 Judicial Retreat was for the abolition of preliminary inquiries into indictable matters.
Currently, magistrates conduct preliminary inquiries in cases such as murder, certain robberies, serious bodily harm with intent and wounding with intent, to determine if there is enough evidence to send a matter for trial before judge and jury.
Preliminary inquiries can sometimes take years depending on the nature of the case and other factors like if files and witnesses are readily available. The evidence is taken verbatim in long hand.
“I was awaiting the outcome of a case in the Privy Council where an appellant in Antigua challenged the constitutionality of abolition of the preliminary inquiry in that jurisdiction,” Sir David told those gathered in the No. 1 Supreme Court.
“The Privy Council gave its decision earlier this year, holding that abolition of the preliminary inquiry does not violate the Constitution. In due course, therefore, I shall be writing to the Attorney General to have the necessary statutory amendments made, if he and the Cabinet are agreeable,” Sir David said.
The island’s top judge further said now that reforms of civil justice had been completed, the Judicial Council would be turning its attention to reforms in the Magistrates’ Courts.
One of those reforms, he said, was the placing of court reporters in the Magistrates’ Court.
“We need to urgently rid magistrates of the tedium of recording evidence in long hand, but we also need a project dedicated to train an adequate number of court reporters to fulfil that objective,” Sir David said.
Another proposal, the Chief Justice added, was the upgrading and suitable remuneration for the post of Chief Magistrate. He said that after five years’ services, all magistrates were on the same level.
The position, said Sir David, “existed in the law as mere verbiage”.
“The omission to provide a hierarchical structure for the magistrates results in the anomaly that it is the only department in the legal and judicial service without appropriate grades reflective of seniority,” Sir David said.
He also lauded the magistrates for the work they had done to reduce the backlog of traffic cases.
