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Why No Faith
As I listened to the excellent address given by Acting Chief Justice Roger Hamel-Smith I couldn’t help but reflect on the low priority given to the issue of justice in this country. His frustration with the long delay in disposing of criminal cases gives hope that he would press the executive to do what is required on this issue. The need for more courts, judges and magistrates is glaring; ask any citizen about the seemingly endless cycles of adjournments before trial, delays in getting judgment after a trial and the bureaucratic inefficiencies that plague the administration of justice.
DPP Henderson candidly gave the reason for the spectacular collapse of several murder trials. He said “Quite a number of cases have collapsed because people are afraid of being killed or having their family members killed”
Where pray tell, is the long promised modern witness protection programme? Why are we now talking about electronic tagging of prisoners as if it is new technology when it has been in use for decades now in other countries? How can anyone respect the system of justice in the face of this? The system cannot protect victims or witnesses from harm. It cannot guarantee safety of life, limb and property in the face of the tsunami of crime. Gangsters are given multi-million dollar construction contracts by the government and treated as celebrities while law-abiding citizens are too petrified to react.
Public confidence in the administration of justice has been shaken by recent events. The tentacles of racial politics can easily reach into any institution in a provocative society such as ours. People however, enjoyed pouring scorn on the system because the occasion presented itself; but they did so because it was an opportunity to vent at a system that they felt had failed them.
The reason the public has lost faith in the justice system has less to do with the recent controversial events involving the Chief Justice and more to do with the fact that people feel the courts are too slow and ineffective. The recent events might have added fuel to the fires of discontent but the apathy pre-dated the suspension of CJ Sharma. People on the street care more about the fact that there is no justice to be had than they do about the perception of political interference. An ineffective system of justice that is susceptible to political influence is of no concern to the man in the street because its inefficacy is what stands out and affects him the most.
The role of the judiciary in dispensing efficient and effective justice cannot be underestimated. It must be given sufficient resources to deliver this precious commodity. The judiciary has been working hard and coping with far too much for too little, for too long. By and large, our judicial officers are fair and independent. The critical support services in the administration of justice have failed and the system has taken unfair advantage of the few brave souls that sacrificed the luxury of a lucrative private law practice in the interest of making a contribution to their country.
The attempts to change the system have had some measure of success but the pace is still too slow. As fast as the backlog of the past is being cleared, a new one if quietly filling the void as new cases are being filed every day. Without more judicial officers and courts and properly resourced support services, there will be no net gain.
Where is the urgency on the part of the state to help the judiciary deliver justice on a timely basis? Why could the Chinese not be put to build the long overdue new San Fernando Magistrates court instead of the PM’s residence? With money aplenty, why is the state taking so long to appoint new judges and magistrates? Why is the backlog at the Forensic Sciences Centre still causing endless adjournments of criminal matters? Why is the probation department so understaffed? What about night court? Why can the judiciary not promise citizens judgment within six months after the completion of a trial?
New high-rise buildings, a diplomatic centre, Prime Ministers residence, stadium and costly colourful advertisements took precedence over the children that are forced to go to school under hot tents, the sick and elderly who are forced to sleep and die on the floors of our hospitals, the repair of dilapidated police stations and the need for new courts and judges. If this is the evidence that we’re well on the road to achieving vision 2020 then I dread looking into Mr Manning’s time machine to see what our future looks like.
by Anand Ramlogan 2007-09-23
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Faith is for true believers, and there are quite a large number of them out there, myself included.
But we have all stopped believing in "nancy stories" too, and especially the ones being told over and over again by "once upon a time there was an emperor" and one day....."
The good people of our country has stopped believing in "emperor Manning" and have come to accept their "fate" as in Karma, because they have very little (faith) belief that anything will be done to fix or address the problems that has been caused, once he is still there.
He is incapable of having it fixed,plain and simple.
Sometimes, as with old and broken down appliances, we junk them and throw them out as garbage when they are no longer useful or can be repaired.
We wish we could have said the same for the Judicial System as we have it today, but unfortunately we can't.
Next best then, we start looking for what is causing the problem, if we are going to fix it, and that is where the big problem rest.
It starts right from the top.. a President who feels that he is above the law of the land...not answerable to any court of the land...from the President?
...then next we have a Prime Minister, and emperor, who also holds the purse strings of the nation, albeit, without any formal training in finance or financial management, but has a stranglehold on the monies and will only release what he "feels" to give, and to "where" as though it belongs to him personally.
In addition, his obsession and fixation on bringing the Chief Justice and by extension, the Judiciary into constant disrepair by his actions,from the Prime Minister?
..then next we have a Chief Justice, who have spent the better part of the last few years literally "dodging bullets", accusations and allegations from the Chief Magistrate, and the "knee jerk" advice of the of the Prime Minister, and his roller coaster appointments and suspensions by the President, leaving very little time for him to focus on the job at hand, the Judiciary.
.... then we have the Chief Magistrate himself, who refuses to give evidence, when he is in fact the main accuser and chief witness, making a sad joke of an example of the judicial system to be followed by the public...from the most senior court officer?
....then we have the Judicial Law Services Commission, the JLSC, who all getting "cold feet" and dragging it at that, to do the right things to help maintain the integrity of the Judicial system....
.....then we have the Law Association, caught somewhere in the middle, trying their best to raise the bar and keep things on track, but their bite is like the "toothless tiger" and their best punch is like that of the "panda bear".....
...then we have the Minister of National Security, who's main responsibility it seems, is to repeat every thing the Prime Minister says, "if Manning say so it is so".... rather than do the right things to support law and order in the country...
.....then we have the Commissioner of Police, always looking in the direction of the Prime Minister "to see what he wants them to say".we go say........
....then we have the Police Officers themselves, being asked to do "miracles" without police cars or police stations or telephones? ....
.....then we have the Courts, unable to function properly, as prisoners can't get their on time, or witnesses are being shot or intimidated in not attending trials, and those who attend, get "sudden amnesia", or plain refusing to testify in fear....
....and the list goes on and on, to the judges and justices of peace who being put in harms way, and we wondering why the people have no faith in the judicial system?...
....and now we have,(with all due respect to the members) the "Tribunal".. the main prize in Manning's eye, the "piece de resistance", the ultimate achievement in this emperor's rule, the Grand Bazaar of comedy shows for him, strutting around the country talking about putting the country first, all the while he destroys everything in his path and does exactly the opposite, leaving a pathway of destruction behind him that is very hard to overlook...what a blight...
then there is an old saying going back some ways, they say some people, anything they touch turns to gold... and then there is also another saying that with some people, anything they come close to, let alone touch, it turns to something you don't want to be close to...it smells to high heaven...
....and thats the legacy of the emperor Manning...
...more lately he talks and gives the impression that he is just a notch below the supreme maker himself,..but thats another story..
So why would our people have faith in him, why would they continue to be believers in his nancy stories?
Santa Claus has long since left the building, except Manning just does not know that yet...he still walking round looking for him to take away all his stuffed toys...as he has taken everything else from the people, down to a broken Judicial system...
some faith...some believer...some Prime Minister...thats the problem!
good luck and godbless. Trini.t.o.o.