On Monday, during a brief ceremony at the court’s Charlotte Street offices, Dame Joan Augusta Sawyer officially declared the new legal year for the Court of Appeal opened.
There were succinct addresses from the President of the Bar Association, Dr. Peter Maynard, the Attorney General and Minister of Education Alfred Sears and the President of the COA.
Justice Sawyer was flanked by the Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall, and Justices Mustpha Ibrahim, Emmanuel E. Osadebay, Maurice A. Churaman, and Lorris M. Ganpatsingh. Special guest on hand for the ceremony was Sir Dennis Byron, Chief Justice of the Eastern Supreme Court to The Bahamas.
Dr. Maynard in his remarks wished all present a “healthy and filling New Year.”
He renewed the commitment of the Bar to work along with the COA justices in the improvement of the administration of justice.
The attorney general congratulated the court on the ceremony and said he hoped it would become apart of the tradition for the court. He stated that, since he assumed the office of the attorney general he has become more intimately aware of the problems facing the judicial system of The Bahamas and wished to advise that concerns in respect of the Court of Appeal are being addressed by the Government.
He stressed that the government was committed to providing the “judicial system of The Bahamas with the tools necessary for the administration of justice.”
In this regard he announced that a new addition to the “Statute Laws of The Bahamas will shortly be brought into force,” and that the statutes would be available in binder version and electronic format. The minister said both formats would be updated annually so that practitioners, the court and the general public can be reasonably certain of the laws in The Bahamas.
Additionally he said to facilitate the works of the mentioned court, Cabinet will deliberate on a proposal for the creation of a separate Registry for the Court of Appeal in the near future.
Mr. Sears also commended the court for “the timely manner in which matters are adjudicated before you and your recent concerted exercise of determining the status of the so called backlog of magisterial appeals pending before this court.”
He stated that the government was also in the process of reviewing the system of legal aid. The minister said the mentioned review was one which was apart of the campaign promise to the Bahamian people. “After wide spread consultation, it is our intention to introduce legislation in the House of Assembly during the second quarter of the year to introduce a comprehensive system of legal aid in The Bahamas encompassing all the court,” he said.
He highlighted in his remarks that the administrative staff attached to the COA must receive the necessary training to assist the Justices in the administration of justice.
Additionally the minister said, “the government is expected to allocate the necessary financial resources to commence the long awaited Judicial Complex which, when completed, would house the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in one building.”
Dame Sawyer in her remarks welcomed all present to the second ceremony for the court of appeal; the first ceremony was held on Jan. 12, 1998 by Sir Joaquim Gonsalves-Sabola.
As she digressed for a brief moment she said, “some of you have heard me say two things over and over when I sat in another place (1) the administration of justice is a co-operative exercise and (2) the law is a jealous mistress.” She said that with the noted sign posts “one can hardly go wrong in the proper practice of the law and as an advocate.
With a number of persons to be thanked, the president especially thanked Archbishop Lawrence Burke who she said, “gave each of us food for thought.” She said she was reminded that each adult person should remember that “justice and righteousness are not but mere platitudes but should be the stuff of everyday life practiced by everyone toward everyone else for only then can we ‘lie down in peace and rise up in safety.”
After thanking the staff and attorneys for their hard work and dedication thus far she declared the legal year for the court officially opened.
By Jimenita Swain, The Nassau Guardian
