EDITORIAL - No to secrecy in our courts

The rule of law, buttressed by an independent judiciary and an adversarial process for arriving at truth, has proved itself a good antidote to arbitrariness and a strong foundation upon which to build democracy.

That is why, despite its faults about which we sometimes complain, this newspaper respects the judicial system as it usually operates in Jamaica, with its tendency towards openness.

Indeed, the process presumes that transparency is intrinsically good; that bad men and destructive ideas prosper in an absence of scrutiny, and that in such circumstances people's rights are more likely to be impinged and their freedom placed at risk.

It is for no simple reason, therefore, that, but for exceptional circumstances - mostly to do with matters of national security, the safety of individuals and the protection of the most vulnerable - our courts are held in the open and their decisions made public.

It is against this background that this newspaper would be surprised if a Jamaican court, except in situations such as we have outlined, were to bar anyone, including a defendant or persons with any information about its proceedings, from informing anyone about its order.

We, for example, do not believe that an injunction that, say, temporarily protected the business interest of a complainant, would meet the threshold for this type of restriction. Nor, do we believe would a Jamaican court.

Indeed, if a Jamaican court were to make such an order, we would expect that it would quickly be seized of its error and reverse itself. For it, like us, would be concerned about eroding the trust and confidence now reposed in our courts, our judicial officers, and the process over which they preside.

It might even be presumed, wrongly, perhaps, that the scale of justice has tilted far to one side.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.