Community-based mediation is a judicial necessity

Feb 15, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
In a previous article, the Guyana Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Oaths to Affidavits referred to the episode of the backlog of cases in the court system. Mention was made about backlog, delays and accumulations.

A thorough examination of the court system will show that the procedures relating to trials are dependent on many factors, namely: the readiness of the prosecution to proceed with a hearing; the availability of the witnesses; the readiness of the defence attorney; the urgency to respond to several deferrals to avoid further or unnecessary delays by the presiding magistrates or trial judges, etc. But, in all of these, the worrying phenomenon is accumulation.

Every day new cases are enlisted into the court system, so the work load automatically increases for the number of magistrates and judges in the system. Many of these cases, however, are minor offences referring to the use of traffic, indecent language, domestic quarrels, stealing, etc. and they are subjected to the same general procedural sequence in court. Certainly, it is rather time-consuming and costly for minor offences to be put through this arduous trail in court.

The fact that the prisons are overcrowded with remand and untried cases, many as long as four to five years, means that the justice system continues to be hurt without speedy and conclusive trials.
The Minister of Home Affairs is fully aware of this situation, and so his suggestion on mediation at the police level is timely and most welcome.

The JP Association is on record that it is very concerned about the huge backlog of cases in the court system, and its support for the following suggestions has been very clear:-
1. Temporary magistrates, as proposed by the Guyana Bar Association.

2. Passage of the Lay Magistrates Bill into law since 1999 – to address relevant cases in the outlying areas.

3. The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADM) initiative in dealing with matters that are court-connected.

4. The Community-based mediation which has its roots in the ‘Pancheyat’ system in the Indian communities and the ‘Council of the Elders’ in the predominantly African communities. A semblance of this system is in evidence in some villages on the Corentyne.

The Honourable Minister of Home Affairs states that the police personnel are “strategically positioned to have first-hand knowledge of any discontent or grumblings in communities.” (Kaieteur News: 01/02/2009). With this advantage, they would be in a better position to mediate in minor offences that do not necessarily warrant the prolonged court action.

While the JP Association applauds this statement, it is the JPs who are in a more advantageous position in the society to mediate as a neutral party in matters among contending parties in the communities, and it is their civic duty to maintain peace and help to resolve conflicts.

The police, on the other hand, are primarily concerned with the maintenance of law and order, and are subject to the regulations of the Guyana Police Force. Again, the police are strategically located according to the limitations of the several magisterial districts in the country, while the JPs are widely spread throughout the 10 administrative regions.

What is definitely a prerequisite for the success of Community-based Mediation is a more meaningful relationship between the JPs and the police.

The work of rehabilitation centres should not be underestimated. This should be reviewed, and relevant training programmes be conducted to benefit Welfare Officers, youth leaders, church elders, and counsellors countrywide to tackle problems at the community or grassroots level.
Hermon Bholaisingh