Fog-bound justice reform

A. J. Nicholson, Contributor

As we approach the fourth year of the life of the present wobbly administration, it is submitted that the times dictate that it is most appropriate that we revisit the justice-reform programme, which appears to be unable to proceed with any degree of urgency, enmeshed as it plainly is in a distinctly disturbing cloud of fogginess.

There can be but few examples of a ministry in a new administration being presented with a proposed and accepted template for the re-organising of its workings within the development of a public-sector modernisation programme, as was inherited by Jamaica's ministry of justice in September 2007.

Lest we forget, how did this fortunate and far-reaching circumstance come to fall into the lap of the new administration? In 2006, the Jamaican Justice System Reform Task Force was established by the government of Jamaica, under the chairmanship of Professor Barry Chevannes of the University of the West Indies, to undertake a comprehensive review into the state of the justice system and to develop strategies and mechanisms to facilitate its modernisation, so that it is better able to meet the current and future needs of Jamaicans.

It had been accepted by the Government that, over the years, across all administrations, there had been no meaningful commitment to address the needs and to furnish the tools that are required for the proper management and delivery of the services that the system is meant to provide. The sparing allocations provided to that ministry, over time, represented ample and unanswerable testimony of the 'poor cousin' designation that had been given to the entity in annual budgetary arrangements. The dire needs of the justice sector could, therefore, no longer be sacrificed on the altar of "the economic challenges of the times".

It was firmly recognised that the justice sector comprises one of the three arms of government, namely, the judiciary. The Ministry of Justice serves, and touches directly, the operations of that arm of government, whose independence must never be in doubt or in peril. That independence is meant to provide a crucial part of the foundation for the establishment of a stable democracy which, in turn, is critical to national development, the attracting of domestic and foreign investment and the attainment of the projected goals of Vision 2030.

High priority

The Chevannes Task Force introduced its report in this manner: "The Government has assigned a high priority to improving the justice system as part of its public-sector modernisation programme. Many reforms have been introduced in specific areas and other initiatives are currently under way. However, these measures are largely piecemeal rather than applied to the justice system as a whole. The old structures and the traditional ways of doing things remain basically in place. In order for reforms to be truly effective, the entire system needs to be assessed and a cohesive and broad-ranging strategy, to modernise the justice system, needs to be developed and implemented.

This is the objective of this comprehensive review - an initiative of the government of Jamaica, led by the Ministry of Justice and the Public Sector Reform Unit of the Cabinet Office, with support provided by a team from the Canadian Bar Association".

The task force was comprised of representatives from the various sectors of the justice system, the then Parliamentary opposition and civil society. And, a National Justice Summit was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre on May 10 and 11, 2007, for the presentation of the Task Force Preliminary Report which had benefited from an extensive and ongoing research and consultation programme, including wide-ranging conversations and engagement with stakeholders and members of the public across Jamaica.

Early warnings

But, very early warnings were given in the final report presented in June 2007, as it addressed the vision of what the Jamaican justice system would look like in 10 years, stressing that the strategies and recommendations must be pursued in earnest. The purpose of that vision was to provide a template against which progress could be measured. The report stated that, while 2017 may seem far away and the need for reform is urgent, experience in other jurisdictions demonstrated that it was a realistic time frame, given the current state of the justice system and the number and complexities of the problems and proposed solutions.

A list was provided of the foundational shifts that would have to be undertaken in order for the vision to be achieved and a series of benchmarks that should guide both the reform process and the justice-system operations. Such vision, foundational shifts and benchmarks would help to monitor the reform process that must start as early as possible in 2007 in order for the 2017 projection to be achieved.

The wide-ranging membership of the Reform Task Force provided the framework within which the implementation exercise was meant to take place. At the National Justice Summit, which had over 400 participants who provided feedback on the preliminary proposals, this matter of how the implementation process should be guided and monitored became a live and searching issue.

The participants in the workshops strongly endorsed the formation of a National Council on Justice, as was recommended by the task force. According to the discussions, the review of the Jamaican justice system that had been undertaken, had started to develop the momentum required for the transformation process through shared participation and recognition of a shared responsibility for the management and operation of the justice system.

The decision was taken that "similar approaches must be fostered during the immediate implementation phase and in ongoing reform efforts. Successful reform requires a coordinated effort on the part of all stakeholders in the system and appropriate mechanisms are required to facilitate this co-ordination and collaboration. The central role of the council would be as a standing advisory body on the justice system".

To support and ease the workload of the ministry, the workshop participants suggested that the council would seek the support of all Jamaicans in creating those appropriate mechanisms for collaborative change, that it should monitor and evaluate reforms in a series of regularly scheduled analyses of the justice sector, and that it should host an annual conference to evaluate domestic and international reform.

Jamaicans now need to know what has become of those proposals after the passage of three of the 10 years that were suggested for the implementation of the copious recommendations. In particular, whether, despite several urgings, the recommended first step in the implementation phase has been taken by the ministry of justice, that is to say, the establishment of the national council. Specific proposals were made as to its composition, staffing and funding.

Persons from all walks of life

It was suggested that it should comprise a broad cross section of persons from civic, church and other grassroots organisations, membership of all levels of the judicial process, private business, the legal fraternity, the constabulary, civil society organisations and selected others. The council should be provided with a properly resourced secretariat and research staff and should be financed 50 per cent by the Office of the Prime Minister and 50 per cent by private businesses and other donors.

A green paper relating to the Public Sector Rationalisation Plan has recently been tabled in the Houses of Parliament. As far as the Ministry of Justice is concerned, that green paper is by no means helpful in its proposals as to how the rationalisation plan is envisaged to drive and advance the reform process. There is the bare statement that "this ministry is already in transformation mode with the emphasis on justice reform." The ongoing initiatives listed under 'Proposed Changes to Functional Areas' do not serve to inspire confidence that the 2017 goals are being pursued with any degree of urgency.

The most impactful reform exercise being undertaken at this time, according to the green paper, is the complete separation of the Court Management Services from the Ministry of Justice to become the administrative arm of the Office of the Chief Justice, who is the head of the judiciary. The importance of this initiative to cementing the independence of the judiciary arm of government cannot be overstated. But it is surely disappointing that three years have passed and the recommended separation, which goes to the heart of the reform process, is still at the implementation stage.

Question asked

For the public, then, the question must be asked, why have they not been brought into the process in any shape or form since the task force presented its findings and recommendations, which had been forged on the strength of consultations and research with and among the people of Jamaica, only for them to be later abandoned and denied any input into the implementation phase? Not only have they and their input been shunned, but there has been a complete shutting out of the very last proposal, that "The task force recommends that the Jamaican Justice System Reform implementation plan include plans for evaluation by the public".

The implementation phase of the reform programme started off on a wrong course of action, that is, without the involvement of the people who the system is meant to serve. That was a tragic mistake, which has caused the reform process to become fog-bound and shrouded in a cloud of secrecy. It is more the pity, since the final sentence in the Chevannes task force Report is a prayer that: "The task force embarked upon this journey with an emphasis on institutional, individual and collective engagement and it is with this same level of commitment that together we will achieve modernisation and transformation of the Jamaican justice system". A grave pity, indeed!

A. J. Nicholson is the Opposition spokesman on justice. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.