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... the following article was published in Tobago News on the 1st of April 2011 (no joke)...
Justice System needs reform
Many people complain about the justice system in Trinidad and Tobago.
Court-cases last many years, criminals walk free to commit more criminal offences and ordinary people spend huge amounts for lawyers without receiving any goal.
As a consequence many people don't have faith in the justice system and feel encouraged to handle conflicts "among themselves".
Judgment day could be on the football field and the verdict might possibly be a broken leg.
On another day some friendly people (6 feet tall, 200 pounds heavy and trained in martial arts) may show up to
explain their wishes and expectations. Or we take a look at Laventille.
But every system has its winners and losers, every system has people who benefit from it even if 90% of the population complain.
Many people wish and demand improvements in the justice system. To answer the questions why a reform of the justice system seams to be so difficult, I would like to ask the question who benefits most from the current justice system.
People who benefit most from a current system are the ones who may have no interest in changing it.
The current court system is characterised by many delays and adjournments.
Even relatively easy conflicts between neighbors or family members can't get completed within less than 10 or even 20 hearings over a period of many years. Such a situation can be extremely frustrating and very cost-intensive for parties of legal conflicts - but highly lucrative for a lawyer!
In many countries a lawyer has to charge his clients a strictly regulated amount of money for the entire court case.
Consequently the lawyer earns the same amount of money if he has to attend two court-sessions or 30 court-sessions to reach a
verdict.
In Trinidad and Tobago however, the fees for an attorney usually rise in relation to the length of the case and the court-sessions
to attend. A fool who is too naive: But doesn't this rule encourage lawyers to seek adjournments to increase their income?
However, parties at court do not necessarily need an attorney. Everybody has the legal right to represent him/herself at court.
Some people simply can't afford a lawyer and others rather spend their money in a different way while knowing about the risk of
being no legal expert. Some people may seek mediators to reduce legal fees or file their own documents at court.
Nobody should be discriminated if he/she would decide to file his/her own documents at the court of justice.
Professional and highly qualified mediators could assist to solve many conflicts before even reaching the court of justice.
Mediation should become a more appreciated form of conflict solving to support the courts.
Lawyers and judges as well as politicians have to gain respect based on their words and actions. They are very important servants and leaders of the nation. People want to be respected by an elite of educated professionals and not being fooled by them.
Egyptians made a peaceful revolution in 2011 against a corrupt President and an elite who enriched themselves on the shoulders of the people.
But in most countries progress is made during an evolutionary development including reforms representing the wishes and needs of the people. A reform of the justice system in T+T should represent the wishes of at least 99% of the population - the people who are neither lawyer nor judge.
Jorg Kilian
... we would like to invite you to have a look at another article published in Tobago News -
Searching for the 'Big Fishes'...
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