CCJ hosts talks for judicial reform with respect to sex crimes

The consultation which was funded by the Canadian government, sought to strengthen local and regional capacities for addressing issues of sexual violence towards women and children and formed part of ongoing efforts by the CCJ’s Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST), project and the United Nations (UN) Women, to promote a more sustainable approach to how cases of sexual abuse are dealt with in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day forum, Canadian High Commissioner, Carla Hogan-Rufelds, expressed optimism that the consultation will go on to achieve its goals of improving the quality of justice given to victims of sexual offenses.

“The JURIST project has already partnered with courts in the Caribbean to modernise the strengths, services and competencies in a fair and predictable manner, and the consultation will include members of the judiciaries of Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname. Despite our strides however, sexual violence and the threat of sexual violence remains a serious problem for many women in the region.” Rufelds-Hogan added that one of the initiatives of the forum, was to improve the level of public trust in the justice system and to develop the necessary guidelines to local courts in approaching matters of sex crimes especially as it relates to women and girls.

Director of the JURIST project, Dr Penny Reedie, lauded members of the judiciary for their continued efforts in lobbying for reform and noted that the project has already enjoyed varying levels of success, with respect to matters of policy development with key stakeholders over the next two years as well as the review of court administration efficiencies in the length of trials and the swiftness of justice.

“The success of this programme hinges on the efforts of all our stakeholders, which would involve a review of current court administration procedures and practices, addressing its challenges and how best we can improve the efficiency of the process for the victim.” During her welcome address, Dr Reedie also underlined the importance of sustainable practice within the judiciary to allow for a more uniform approach to matters of sex offenses.

Newsday spoke to Caribbean Court Judge, Adrian Saunders, who said that while he was satisfied with the strides towards development that the CCJ has made with respect to improving the quality of justice in matters of sexual assault, one major challenge to progress would be to improving the swiftness with which victims receive justice and the quality of justice received. “While the issue of sexual assault is one that rarely reaches the level of the CCJ, it’s more of a case for Magistrates’ courts, it is a big challenge to increase the swiftness or the efficacy of the court process. In the forum we intend to discuss the different levels of reform and how this would assist in victims having a better quality of justice.”