SHUT DOWN THIS COURT

CHIEF JUSTICE Sat Sharma yesterday ordered that the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court be shut down because of a plumbing problem which threatened the electrical system in the new wing of the building. As a result, no cases will be heard at the St Vincent Street courthouse until Monday when it is hoped that the problem would be rectified. Following a meeting with officials of the Court Executive Administration department yesterday, Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls passed on the news to attorneys involved in the Akiel Chambers inquest, which Mc Nicolls was hearing when he was summoned by the Chief Justice.
   
Mc Nicolls left the court at 11.30 am, saying he was going to attend an urgent meeting and would be back by midday. He did not return until 12.45 pm when he announced that the Chief Justice had ordered the court to be shut down. Mc Nicolls took reporters to see the problem in the basement of the new wing, where a pipe had burst in the generator room. According to the Chief Magistrate, no one at that time knew where the problem was. “The water was just leaking and gathering on the floor of this room. We had to shut off the water because it threatened the electrical system,” he said. Mc Nicolls said the court has had no water since Friday. He pointed out that MTS staff members collected buckets of water from the basement and carried them as high as the fourth floor. Because of the lack of water, staff workers placed “out of order”  signs outside the public toilets in the building, as the toilets could not be flushed. Added to that, no prisoners were brought from the State Prison for this week. “This was going to be a problem so the prisoners could not be brought.”

When asked what would happen to cases listed for today and tomorrow, Mc Nicolls said charge cases would be heard before acting Senior Magistrate Deborah Quintyne at the Chaguaramas Magistrates’ Court. Members of the public and attorneys who have matters before the court on these days must attend the court registry in order to be informed as to the status of their matters and their adjourned dates. Mc Nicolls asked, “how could you have hundreds of people using this building every day with no water? It will amount to a serious health hazard,” he added. According to a release from the judiciary, the court was closed due to an undefined plumbing problem of some magnitude. The contractor, NIPDEC, has promised to treat the matter as one of urgency, according to the release. WASA has been working with the judiciary but noted that it was not their problem.

The new wing of the Port-of-Spain Court was started under the UNC Government in 1997. Two and a half years ago, then Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj attempted to hand over the building to the judiciary but then Chief Justice Michael de la Bastide refused to accept it. A site inspection revealed so many defects that the judiciary refused to take possession. The PNM Government injected a further $5 million to correct the defects. According to CJ Sharma, the original designs of the building showed complete ignorance or indifference to the special needs and requirements of a court building. Attorney General Glenda Morean handed over the new wing to acting CJ Lionel Jones on August 15. The new wing was opened to the public three weeks ago. When contacted yesterday, CJ Sharma said several things contributed to the “colossal disaster” of the refurbishment of the new wing. He cited the excessive cost overruns, the inordinate delays, the failure to consult with the judiciary, the improper planning, the lack of daily supervision of workers and the reckless disregard and disrespect for public property together with the failure to meet promised deadlines.