The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

CHIEF Justice Brian Moree said issues raised in a recent Auditor General report regarding payments at the courts have been partially addressed.

He assured the public yesterday judiciary officials were working to ensure integrity is a mainstay in the court system.

Alleged impropriety at the Magistrates Courts was highlighted in February in a report by Auditor General Terrence Bastian, exposing instances of cashiers allegedly altering payment receipts and nearly two dozen missing cheques.

Another incident – a missing endorsed blank cheque for $6,000 that was later cashed — was directly given to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for further investigation.

Mr Bastian noted differences between amounts that were paid for maintenance support – either child support or spousal support payments — versus the amount that cashiers posted to client cards for these payments.

Yesterday, asked to assure Bahamians that mechanisms have been put in place to thwart further wrongdoing, Mr Moree said: “The integrity of the court system and the administration of justice is essential in order to earn the public’s confidence in our court system and so this is a matter that is extremely important.

“The issues that arose as a result of the report of the Auditor General in the Magistrates Courts have been partially addressed. With regards to processes and procedures and checks and balances and different protocols and I must say that the final response, the final chapter of the response to that report will be introduced probably before the end of December or if not in early January, which will involve a substantial revamping of work processes in the Magistrates Courts.

“So, I can assure the Bahamian public that these issues of integrity and honesty and transparency and the way in which we deal with money and the disposition of cases and I might add the whole regime dealing with alternative sentencing, which does not involve a custodial sentence, but may involve some form of counselling or some other form of sentence other than incarceration all of that is being revamped.

“I am working with the Ministry of Social Services and one of their key departments to introduce new procedures and protocols for oversight of all agencies who are involved in non-custodial sentencing.

“I had a very productive and helpful discussion with the minister of social services about a week and a half ago and he is fully supportive of our efforts to revamp this procedure to make it more transparent and to bring it in line with best practice.

“So many of those issues we are addressing those issues and there will be major changes, work processes and procedures to ensure accountability, transparency and by the way it will also involve improving our service platform for users of the Magistrates Courts.”

The Chief Justice also gave an update on the digitisation of the court system. Officials expect the changes to increase the judiciary’s efficiency.

Registrar of the Supreme Court Camille Darville-Gomez said it is likely the entire process will take 12 months to complete.

However, the new electronic bail management system will come online December 14. There is also a court integration management system in the works.

Mr Moree further announced that Constance Delancy has been appointed senior court administrator, while Alphanette Grant is administrator for the Magistrates’ Courts.