Attorney General Alfred Sears yesterday challenged legal professionals to remain abreast of changes in law and technology so that the Bahamas can remain a cutting-edge financial jurisdiction.
Minister Sears was addressing a luncheon at Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort to welcome Sir Dennis Byron, chief justice of the Caribbean Supreme Court, who is visiting the Bahamas this week.
The attorney general said that there is a need to review laws relating to the country’s financial services sector.
With many of the Supreme Court’s existing rules being more than 25 years old, Minister Sears said, it will be necessary for “these rules to be reviewed to remain relevant and useful tools of the law.”
Civil procedure reform, the review and enhancement of the civil legal system as opposed to the criminal, is expected to simplify civil procedures by making it more efficient and cost effective for clients, Minister Sears said.
Government officials have said that they intend to reduce the amount of bureaucracy surrounding financial transactions which often hinders business operations, particularly for non-Bahamians wishing to do business in The Bahamas.
Another development expected to take place this legal year is the provision of legal representation for those people unable to pay for legal services.
According to the President of The Bahamas Bar Association Dr. Peter Maynard, legislation to provide for legal aid in the Bahamas should make its way to Parliament early this year.
Dr. Maynard said that legal aid is important for The Bahamas because in many cases people simply cannot afford to pay for the services of a lawyer, even though they are entitled to quality legal advocacy.
He explained that many people find themselves in need of legal representation for both criminal and civil matters but cannot access it, not so much because of the cost of lawyers’ fees, but because “many people don’t have any resources at all.”
“If there is about to be a foreclosure on your house,” he said, “you don’t have the money to pay the mortgage company much less to pay anybody.”
Other issues to be addressed this legal year are the implementation of improved access to courthouses for witnesses so they will not come into contact with accused persons and their families; improved security for judges, and reducing the backlog of cases before the courts.
Sir Dennis said that the backlogged court system is not peculiar to The Bahamas.
He explained, however, that only 10 percent of writs before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court actually go to trial. The other 90 percent are either resolved or simply dropped.
By Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
