Lawsuits against Gov’t rise due to case backlog

The high backlog of civil cases within the judicial system has led to a stark increase in lawsuits being brought against the State, Attorney General Dale Marshall has disclosed.

He made the revelation after Senior Counsel Leslie Haynes was sworn in Friday as the 15th Chief Justice of Barbados, the sixth as an independent nation, and expressed confidence that he would be able to tackle the backlog, similar to his predecessor Sir Patterson Cheltenham.

The AG told reporters: “The backlog, it is huge, but it is not beyond us. For my part, I have to say that we are seeing more and more cases being filed against the State alleging breach of constitutional rights on the basis that justice has been delayed. It’s an undeniable right and it’s also an undeniable truth.

“We can’t keep paying compensation to litigants who make those claims, while at the same time funding the judicial system as it is needed. What we would expect is that the more we fund the judicial system, the fewer of those things we should get. I am sure that Chief Justice Haynes is up to the task.”

Marshall noted that the government had taken steps over the years to increase resources for dealing with the backlog, including hiring new judges. He said additional staff would be employed later this year to handle court transcription.

“Certainly in relation to the criminal backlog, we have seen tremendous results in that regard,” he said. “In relation to the civil side of things, though, I think we now have to redouble our efforts to make sure we can get that [down]. The chief will now have to determine what kind of resources he needs, but I can tell you for example that for court transcription, we have hired an additional 12 people to be able to take verbatim evidence. They are undergoing special training now [and] that training is expected to be completed by September so that at the start of the new court year, they will be in place.” (SB)