NASSAU, The Bahamas – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson Wednesday (January 10) pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to stamp out lawlessness in The Bahamas,” saying that Bahamians demand nothing less from those persons charged with the administration of justice.
“The Bahamian public will not accept any dogma that brands us a lawless society,” Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said. “As the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, I hear the voices loud and clear that demand justice, law and order and an end to crime.
“The voices, loud and clear, say that we are what our constitution defines us as – a Christian nation with abiding respect for the rule of law – and we will fight for the implementation of those ideals,” Mrs. Maynard-Gibson added.
The Attorney General said one way of attaining that goal is through the facilitation of the Swift Justice Program, which “can and must work” through an integrated justice system that is already in the works.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said progress “is already being made” in the area of Swift Justice by “those already dedicated to making it work.” She encouraged critics of the program, particularly those who are charged with the administration of justice, to “get behind it and make it work.”
“We all depend on it and everyone needs to support the concept,” Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said. “We note that there are systemic problems that have existed for decades. These cannot be solved overnight. This is why I invite defence lawyers, investigators, officials of the Office of the Attorney General charged with the presentation of cases, to all reflect on our duty to the Bahamian public and to ask ourselves whether we are working together to do all we can to serve the Bahamian public.
“Together we must address the backlog of cases and enable efficiency and the swift hearing of matters before our courts,” the Attorney General added.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said her Office is in the process of implementing an integrated justice system to further positively impact the swift administration of justice in The Bahamas.
She said the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s system is working as a stand alone and is connected to the Prison. She said the system at the Supreme Court is also working and is ready to be connected to the Office of the Attorney General and the Police.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said the Office of the Attorney General is completing the infrastructural improvements that will enable safe and reliable intranet and internet communications.
“Our communications experts, BTC, and our systems experts, IBM, advise that as soon as the Office of the Attorney General’s improvements are completed, they can proceed to connect the Supreme Court, the Police, the Prison and the Office of the Attorney General to each other.
“In anticipation of the completion of the infrastructural integration, we are working with the Registrar to engage a consultant to implement the recommendations of Justice Strachan for the improvement and efficiency of the Registry and to guide and complete the processes and systems necessary for the integrated justice system to function as designed,” the Attorney General said.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said “strong focus” is being brought to the successful completion of the project which, if functions as designed, will immediately result in a more efficient use of court time.
“The system is designed to prevent time conflicts in terms of double bookings of matters and lawyers and other such inefficiencies that continue to plague the administration of justice and cause grave inconvenience to litigants,” Mrs. Maynard-Gibson added.
