‘Respect due’

A senior judicial officer says Barbados’ magistracy is not only short of personnel but is being treated with utter disregard and disrespect.

“I call it institutionalised disrespect,” Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes declared on Thursday as he explained that the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Courts were only able to hear urgent matters and new charges as staff were “scotching” at the Supreme Court.

The No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court over which Weekes presides and the District ‘A’ Traffic Court were relocated to the Supreme Court Complex on Whitepark Road in April last year, with a weekly sitting beginning at 1 p.m.; while the staff in the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court work from a room above the District ‘D’ Police Station at Cane Garden, St Thomas.

The three courts were reportedly moved from their original location due to unsafe working conditions following the ashfall from the eruption of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ La Soufrière volcano, among other things.

Barbados TODAY understands the courts were to move to the buildings which previously housed the old High Court and Court of Appeal on Coleridge Street, which are now under renovations, sometime in November.

However, explaining to two accused men that their matter had to be adjourned until next year, Chief Magistrate Weekes revealed that “dem ain’t for we”.

“The buildings down there will be going to other people, they will not be going to us and, of course, we are not happy. We are most distressed and disappointed once again that the magistracy has been treated with total and utter disregard because once again we cannot get the kind of facilities befitting of our status.

“We must always be given a last resort kind of facility. Here it is we were to be upgraded and given facilities befitting of our status . . . and now they are going to find room for others to enjoy our space. So, we are not happy at all about that. So I am shouting from the mountain tops that once again the magistracy has been disrespected. I call it institutionalised disrespect,” Weekes declared.

Reliable sources have informed Barbados TODAY that the renovated facilities will be used to house at least two new High Court rooms.

Meantime, the Magistrate’s Courts will return to their original buildings, except the No. 2 District ‘A’ Court which it is understood will remain in St Thomas.

“The High Court gets what they think they should get. We do not even have enough personnel in the Magistrates’ Courts these days . . . . Enough is enough,” said Weekes, who currently has responsibility for two courts as there has been no appointed magistrate for the District ‘A’ Traffic Court for the last four days.

“. . . . If we were in a location where we could work and not continue to scotch in the Supreme Court, we might be able to finish a number of summary trials. But we are only able to do urgent matters because of the timeline in here.

“We need more magistrates in this place. More personnel continue to be added at the higher level; no more magistrates are added. That is why I had to disappoint two accused by not being able to render their decision because I am doing two courts now. I am doing Traffic and Court No. 1. That is what is happening down here. I am doing call days for two/three weeks because no else [is available] . . . . We are one court short . . . so more personnel is what we need,” the Chief Magistrate insisted.

Weekes explained that his decision to speak out was “not personal” but he had to “stand up as team leader” for his staff.

“They work hard and they are very much deserving of proper facilities . . . . You can’t keep letting people work and sacrifice and you turn round now and . . . renovate buildings that had no plans on being renovated and we now must be sent back there, after a sacrifice of more than a year and a half.

“I have always been a man, I fear no one but my Father in heaven, so I am not worried about a soul. So, if nobody is going to defend us I will do it. I had to get that off my chest. Enough is enough; people got to know about the kind of work we do. We do the bulk of the work around this place and we still cannot get proper facilities,” the Chief Magistrate contended.

fernellawedderburn@barbadostoday.bb