Dear Editor,
Resident Magistrates Courts are known to be for poor men and women, while the Supreme Court is for the rich, because of the vast difference in costs to access these courts and there have been increased fixed costs to access the Supreme Court, putting it even further away from the poor.
If the Resident Magistrate Courts do not have the same jurisdiction as the Supreme Court, irrespective of value of property and amount of a claim in all cases, justice would obviously be denied to the vast majority of our people not having the means to access the Supreme Court.
In this context, Resident Magistrate Courts have long enjoyed unlimited jurisdiction in a few cases, including those under the recently repealed Married Woman's Property Act, which gave a party the option to go to either court. However, the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act, 2004 has taken away that jurisdiction of Resident Magistrate Courts effectively denying access to the majority.
As the middle class continues to shrink, only a very small minority can afford the Supreme Court, not only because of the costs stated above, but the rules of the Supreme Court are far too complex for even some judges to master. There is no reason why the rules of that court could not be along the same simple lines as those of the Resident Magistrate Courts.
With the presumed support of our Government, the enlightened Mr Justice Panton took the Court of Appeal for the first time since its creation to the people in the West. Give the Resident Magistrate Courts parallel jurisdiction, irrespective of the value of property and of the amount of a claim in all cases, and far more justice would reach the people than currently obtains. They deserve it and expect it of those elected to serve and provide.
By the way, no discussion on bringing justice to the people can be complete without having the Caribbean Court of Justice as our final court sitting in Jamaica. Without further delay Mr Holness and company, over to you.
Owen S Crosbie
Mandeville, Manchester
oss@cwjamaica.com
Give the poor access to justice too
-->
Resident Magistrates Courts are known to be for poor men and women, while the Supreme Court is for the rich, because of the vast difference in costs to access these courts and there have been increased fixed costs to access the Supreme Court, putting it even further away from the poor.
If the Resident Magistrate Courts do not have the same jurisdiction as the Supreme Court, irrespective of value of property and amount of a claim in all cases, justice would obviously be denied to the vast majority of our people not having the means to access the Supreme Court.
In this context, Resident Magistrate Courts have long enjoyed unlimited jurisdiction in a few cases, including those under the recently repealed Married Woman's Property Act, which gave a party the option to go to either court. However, the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act, 2004 has taken away that jurisdiction of Resident Magistrate Courts effectively denying access to the majority.
As the middle class continues to shrink, only a very small minority can afford the Supreme Court, not only because of the costs stated above, but the rules of the Supreme Court are far too complex for even some judges to master. There is no reason why the rules of that court could not be along the same simple lines as those of the Resident Magistrate Courts.
With the presumed support of our Government, the enlightened Mr Justice Panton took the Court of Appeal for the first time since its creation to the people in the West. Give the Resident Magistrate Courts parallel jurisdiction, irrespective of the value of property and of the amount of a claim in all cases, and far more justice would reach the people than currently obtains. They deserve it and expect it of those elected to serve and provide.
By the way, no discussion on bringing justice to the people can be complete without having the Caribbean Court of Justice as our final court sitting in Jamaica. Without further delay Mr Holness and company, over to you.
Owen S Crosbie
Mandeville, Manchester
oss@cwjamaica.com
Give the poor access to justice too
-->