Justice Kokaram to help improve Belize's judiciary

BELMOPAN: A one-day workshop aimed at equipping senior officials of the judiciary with the skills for efficiently resolving disputes, avoiding lengthy trials and reducing the backlog of civil cases gets under way here on Monday.

The senior courts of Belize Judicial Education Institute said that the Judicial Settlement Conferences is specifically tailored for judges, registrars, judicial assistants, and members of the Bar Association of Belize.

It said the event is one of two critical training seminars on Judicial Settlement Conferences and Criminal Mediation aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the judicial system.

These training seminars are aligned with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Academy for Law Needham’s Point Declaration, the Senior Courts of Belize Strategic Narrative, and the recommendations from the Criminal Justice Board.

Chief Justice Madame Louise Esther Blenman of the Senior Courts of Belize, and president of the Judicial Education Institute, said the judicial settlement conferences are facilitated by a settlement judge who acts as a mediator for matters assigned to another judge.

It will be facilitated by Justice of Appeal Vasheist Kokaram of the TT Judiciary, who is “renowned for his expertise and experience in mediation, and judicial settlement conferences, having provided extensive training across the Caribbean."

She said the Judicial Education Institute will hold a training seminar on criminal mediation from October 2-6, which is also judge-driven.

“In this case, judges will conduct the mediation of criminal cases. The criminal mediation training is sponsored by the European Union and the United Nations Programme Development PACE Justice Project.”

The five-day conference will be facilitated by Dr Christopher Malcolm and Burchell James of the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

“The participants will include the criminal division judges, magistrates, attorneys at law, and mediators. The training aims to introduce participants to mediation in criminal matters and the best practices as well as to tool participants with the skills for expediting case resolution and backlog reduction in the criminal-justice system in Belize. By incorporating mediation in the criminal-justice process, it will enhance access to justice, shorten legal proceedings and create a more responsive court system.”

The Chief Justice has sought to emphasise the significance of these training seminars in reducing case backlogs and empowering stakeholders of the senior courts of Belize with the latest knowledge and tools to ensure justice is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

(CANA)