Appointment of more Judges, Judicial & Public Service Commissions soon  

The Irfaan Ali-led government seems keen on moving ahead with increasing the complement of judges at both the High Court and Appeal Court but has also recommitted to the swift reappointment of the Judicial and Public Service Commissions.

These are two important commissions that deal with the appointment of judicial officers to vacant posts and the disciplining of those officers.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall assured that the Commissions which expired in 2017 will be reconstituted this year.

“These are two interrelated commissions that have significant roles in both the appointment of judicial officers… as well as the appointment of support staff to the magistracy and judiciary,” Nandlall said.

He noted that increasing the complement of judges is a matter for the Parliament and the Executive and said the two arms of government will work to ensure that happens this year.

For instance, at the Court of Appeal, there are currently three judges when the statutory number is five.

The government wants to increase that to nine.

Increases in the complement of judges also require expansion in physical infrastructure which is currently underway.

Last week, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., issued a call for an increase in the complement of High Court judges to dispose of criminal proceedings in a timelier manner as the number of cases on trial has increased significantly over the years.

“We need more judges in the judiciary so there can be more judges sitting in the [criminal] sittings so that this number of increased cases can be disposed of timelier,”  Ali-Hack said at the opening of the January Assizes and 2023 Law Year.

Increasing the complement of judges is just one measure the DPP has called for to help to dispose of the heavy workload of the judiciary in a timely manner.