Georgetown: The soon to be realised Family Court has been described by Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Carl Singh as one with specialised rules, within a specially created division of the High Court.
He listed some of the challenges faced initially, in that the body of rules suffered initially from the ready availability of drafting expertise to put it together. The second difficulty faced was with the procurement of furniture.
Addressing around 80 legal practitioners and other stakeholders at the opening of a one-day seminar on the rules and regulations of the Court, the Chancellor said that the body of rules which will govern the practice and procedure of the Family Court will be clarified during the course of the event. He took pains to thank those in attendance at the Georgetown Club, where the event took place, pointing out that those not present may find themselves in an embarrassing situation when their unawareness of the demands of the rules becomes evident in the Court before the judges who are going to preside over those courts.
Timeliness and efficiency should become known as the standards of the court which he stressed will be judge-driven and not lawyer-driven. Noting the current clean-up effort underway in the Capital City of Georgetown and across the country, Chancellor Singh called for a similar action with regard to the local court system in terms of what he described as the “culture of adjournment” which has contributed significantly to the phenomenon of delay, which plagues our judicial system.” If the legal sector is able to achieve this change, Justice Singh opined that this would be “a significant and worthy achievement”.
He thanked UNICEF and its representative Marianne Flach, and Child Welfare Officer of UNICEF Patricia Gittens for the role played in making the Family Court a reality and which UNICEF continues to support. Gratitude was also expressed by the legal luminary to the judges who made a study of the rules and the conceptualising of the format and content of the event.
Justice Singh explained that there were changes to the court’s rules and these are expected to be laid in the National Assembly by Attorney General Basil Williams for its consideration and passage.
The Chancellor said once this is completed, “It is a matter of signing a practice direction to bring the Court into being.” Given that the first sitting of the National Assembly for the 11th Parliament will occur on June 10, he said that he has already spoken with the Attorney General and, “the revised rules will be transmitted to him”.
The Family Court was constructed in 2010. It is located in the compound of the High Court in Georgetown and will have a full complement of staff, and a dedicated registry to cater to its needs. The new facility will handle issues such as divorce, division of property, domestic matters, adoption, guardianship and custody.
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