#BTSpeakingOut – Justice delayed is justice denied

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by N. Bridgeman

I read not long ago where a case was determined in the favour of the plaintiff ten years after the matter had been brought to the court.

Why did this long wait happen? What can be done do have not only the courts expedite these cases but also to have insurance companies settle matters in a decent time.

I am aware of persons who are waiting for settlement of cases 20 years after being injured. This is a disgrace. Recently, some people at the BIDC won their cases but some of them will not be compensated because they are pushing up weeds at Coral Ridge.

I also noticed something that is happening that the Chief Justice of Barbados needs to pay attention to, indeed chief justices of most Caribbean jurisdictions ought to pay attention to this humbug.

There is a problem with our judges giving people written judgments after they give their oral decisions.

This frustrates attempts to appeal decisions at higher courts in a timely fashion. Our judges must be called to account on this score.

The Caribbean Court of Justice has continuously castigated Barbados for the slow nature that matters are resolved here, and on several occasions, I suspect much of the delays has to do with persons in authority not doing their jobs in a timely manner.