EDITORIAL - No easy pass for Mr Chuck

We have long felt, and made it known, that Mr Delroy Chuck, lately the speaker of the House, should be a member of the Cabinet.

In fact, we advocated for his assumption of the justice portfolio in place of Ms Dorothy Lightbourne who, contrary to conventional wisdom, may not have been as hapless as she seemed, notwithstanding the incoherence she appeared to bring to the job.

In the event, Ms Lightbourne was undone by her inept handling of the Christopher Coke extradition affair and her worse performance at the commission of enquiry into the matter. That made it easier for Prime Minister Bruce Golding to offer her up to a public insisting on accounting.

Now that Mr Chuck has the job we hope, our past advocacy notwithstanding, that there is no lowering of the bar for him, and that that was not the signal from Mr Golding when he presided over Tuesday's ministerial oath-taking.

It is widely accepted that Jamaica's justice system, if not in shambles, limps creakily along and is in real danger of collapse.

There is, for instance, a backlog of nearly half a million cases in the courts. It often takes a decade, or more, for matters to be resolved.

This rickety justice system contributes to Jamaica's dysfunctional social arrangements and our high level of crime. If people can't count on the formal system to work, they may be inclined to seek their own justice.

A weak justice system also impacts negatively on the economy. A critical part of the infrastructure of commerce is a reliable mechanism for resolving disputes - that is, an intellectually sound judiciary and efficient courts. The first we have. The second is a mess.

This brings us back to Mr Golding, yesterday's oath-taking, and our expectations of Mr Chuck.

The problems to be faced by the new minister preceded this administration. So, too, do the various projects for fixing them, including the much-talked-about Justice Reform Programme which, according to Mr Golding, "demands a considerable amount of resources".

"Therefore, we have had to proceed on the basis of implementing those aspects that can be accommodated within the resources and constraints that confront us," said the prime minister. "These are real realities that we face."

No room for complacency

We hope that in the face of the presumed realities Mr Chuck does not take the prime minister's observations to mean that there are low expectations of him and that the public will cease to crave quick, efficient and transparent justice. He has no room for complacency. Rather, the circumstances demand of Mr Chuck imagination, creativity and energy in pursuing the reform agenda.

Indeed, he is under scrutiny by a majority of citizens who believe, with good reason, that they are outside the loop of justice.

If he is to rebuild confidence and gain support, Mr Chuck must establish deliverables and the time frames within which these will be achieved. Targets for lowering the backlog of cases are essential. On this, he must work with the chief justice.

The minister must say, too, how, with the chief justice, he intends to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the judicial system.

Mr Chuck should also appropriate to his portfolio, almost as a mission, the fighting of corruption and in the process champion strong, effective legislation to help in this agenda.

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.