By Robert A. Emmanuel
Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Dame Janice Pereira, cited the completion of the second phase of the court’s e-litigation portal as a priority for the new law year.
The portal allows court documents to be filed online rather than in person, among other things, enabling more efficient administration.
The Chief Justice made her remarks during a special sitting of the High Court on Tuesday to commemorate the opening of Law Year 2023.
She said that the completion of the portal was vital to the dispensation of justice through a more digital-driven judiciary.
“We live in an era where technology sets the stage for our very existence … having recognised the real benefits to be gained from the use of modern information communication technologies, the court has been actively pursuing the integration of these technologies into its daily operations,” she stated.
Work on the e-litigation portal commenced in 2018, with the first phase involving the filing of new civil matters in the High Court and Court of Appeals in all member states.
The second phase, which began last year, involved the “expansion of the portal to accommodate High Court criminal matters” and proceedings filed in all magistrate’s courts among the member states.
“Implementation of the portal will also enhance user experiences at the lower, but no less important, level of the justice system,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice also praised Antigua and Barbuda for the implementation of the Family Division which enables the country to address all levels of family matters such as child maintenance and guardianship, paternity, custody, adoption and domestic violence matters.
Dame Janice said it was a monumental achievement, calling the division “the one-stop shop for resolving a myriad of family disputes and accessing a number of social and family-related services in a uniform and consistent way”.
The Chief Justice has said that the specified courts are important for the swift delivery of justice, calling for family divisions to be implemented in other jurisdictions in the Eastern Caribbean court system as well as adequate facilities for the delivery of justice.
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