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Who Decides?
Attorney-General Anil Nandlall, SC
-Guyana to debate key question in judge-alone trial reform
THE question of who will decide whether a case proceeds to a judge-alone trial or a jury trial is at the centre of ongoing discussions as Guyana prepares to introduce this significant judicial reform.
Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, has revealed that the draft legislation for the implementation of judge-alone trials is already under review, with the government emphasising the need for broad consultations to address this critical issue.
Speaking on the draft legislation, the Attorney-General emphasised that Guyana is significantly ahead of the benchmarks outlined in the Needham’s Point Declaration on Criminal Justice Reform. This declaration advocates for judge-alone trials as an integral aspect of enhancing the criminal justice system. The Needham Declaration, an international framework for judicial reform, emphasises the importance of flexibility and accessibility in legal systems.
The proposed changes are part of a broader effort to improve access to justice, reduce delays, and offer greater flexibility in the trial process, according to Nandlall.
Judge-alone trials represent a significant departure from traditional jury trials, where a panel of peers determines guilt or innocence. Under this system, a single judge would assume the role of both fact-finder and arbiter of the law. Nandlall explained that the new provision is not intended to replace jury trials, but to provide an additional option within the legal system.
“Judge-alone trials is one option that we will install in our legal system,” he stated, while acknowledging that several critical issues require consultation before the measure can be fully implemented. Among these is determining who will have the authority to decide whether a case proceeds to a judge-alone trial or a jury trial. “In whose power will it lie to determine whether or not to go to a jury trial; and that is a crucial issue. The position varies from one jurisdiction to another, both in the Caribbean and the wider commonwealth,” he pointed out.
In many jurisdictions where judge-alone trials exist, the decision-making power varies.
In some Caribbean nations, like Trinidad and Tobago and Belize for instance, the accused may choose the mode of trial. In others, the court or prosecution may have a say.
Nandlall noted that the draft legislation is currently under review by the judiciary, signifying the government’s commitment to collaborating with stakeholders to craft a balanced approach.
One of the main advantages of judge-alone trials is their potential to expedite the legal process. Jury trials, while essential in many cases, often face delays due to logistical challenges, including empaneling jurors and addressing concerns of impartiality.
The introduction of judge-alone trials is expected to ease the burden on Guyana’s over-taxed judicial system, reducing case backlogs and providing swifter resolutions for litigant.
Speaking at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre during a lecture on “Rethinking Criminal Justice” last year, Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judge, the late Justice Jacob Wit proposed the adoption of judge-alone trials in Guyana. He highlighted this as a potential strategy to enhance the efficiency of justice delivery and address the persistent backlog in the legal system.
“[There] are little things we look at, but there are more countries that are using our judge-alone trial, and I personally have been a judge alone in my former jurisdiction. I have done more than 90 cases as a judge alone for the most serious criminal cases, and that works…” Justice Wit had said.
During the same lecture, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, had urged the relevant authorities to amend existing legislation to facilitate the introduction of judge-alone trials as part of the rethinking of the criminal justice system. She emphasised that the time had come for Guyana to adopt this approach to enhance justice delivery.
Ali-Hack, who’d participated in the panel discussion, stated that judge-alone trials are better suited for cases such as money laundering and cybercrime. She pointed out that this approach would result in quicker case processing, and help reduce backlogs in the judicial system.
https://guyanachronicle.com/2024/12/02/who-decides/
By Staff Reporter
