Justice project makes major impact

The IMPACT Justice Project which is nearing completion has been hailed a success for helping to reshape legislative policy across the region.

The eight-year, multi-country regional justice sector reform project which is slated to end in March 2023 was designed to address deficiencies in the justice sector and enhance access to justice for women, men and young people in 13 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, including Barbados.

Speaking during a meeting to review the IMPACT Justice legislative drafting component on Tuesday morning at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, the Head of Cooperation for the Eastern Caribbean at Global Affairs Canada, Abebech Assefa, lauded the initiative.

She explained that when the project was conceptualised in 2014, governments had identified the need for harmonised laws and a comprehensive legislative review to serve as policy guides for the further development of critical areas of legislation.

“We believe that this project has sought to address all of these concerns and over the last eight years has implemented different activities and initiatives to address these concerns,” Assefa said.

She said the project, which is funded by the government of Canada to the tune of CAD$19.2 million (BDS$28.2 million) could boast of several achievements.

Assefa revealed that over the period of the project thus far, 73 legislator drafters had been trained to boost the pool of drafting expertise in the region, and 12 model laws, including legislation to bolster regional harmony in the area of business and trade, were completed as well as 37 legislative reviews.

“The Government of Canada is especially pleased with the project’s effort to advance the cause of women and girls. In keeping with this mandate, we applaud the project for consistently seeking to ensure that a focus on gender equality is not only being considered but, wherever possible, directly addressed,” she added.

Regional Project Director of the IMPACT Justice Project, Professor Velma Newton disclosed that it had amassed a comprehensive catalogue of legislative reviews on a wide range of topics including review papers on company law, marijuana, climate change, family law and CARICOM Governments’ legal responses to COVID-19.

Professor Velma Newton

She said the project had also sponsored training in the consolidation of laws and trained senior public officers in the preparation of drafting instructions. (RB)