REMARKS BY THE HONOURABLE ALFRED SEARS,

REMARKS BY

THE HONOURABLE ALLYSON MAYNARD-GIBSON,

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER OF

LEGAL AFFAIRS

THE OPENING OF THE LEGAL YEAR 2007

THE SUPREME COURT

MY LORD CHIEF JUS= TICE

JUSTICES OF THE S= UPREME COURT

GOOD MORNING.

MAY IT PLEASE, MY LORD &= nbsp;

It is with a deep consciousness of history and the importance of this institution, the Supreme Court, established by Article 93 of The Constitution of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas that as Attorney General and Leader of The Bar I address this Court today, January 10, 2007.

My Lord Chief Justice, when Bahamians look at you, the Head of The Judiciary in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, a man who is so accomplished, has distinguished himself and is so very highly respected in so many arenas, na= tionally and internationally we know that the struggles and travails of our forebears was not in vain. We thank you My Lord for being the shining beacon inspiring and encouraging this generation and those to come to excel.

We have a strong a noble heritage that we must protect. The Bahamian public demands that those charged with the responsibility for the administration of justice do what is necessary to stamp out lawlessness wherever it rears its ugly head in our society. The Bahamian public will not accept any dogma that brands us a lawless society.= As the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I hear the voices lo= ud and clear that demand justice law and order and an end to crime. …the voi= ces loud and clear that say we are what our constitution defines us as…we= are a Christian nation …with an abiding respect for= the rule of law… and we will fight for the implementation of those ideals= .

= ; How will we implement those ideals Infrastructure<= /b>

= ;      My Lord, I am delighted to say that the government has agreed that the Judicial Complex will be built upon land extending from the existing Ministry of For= eign Affairs to the old St. John’s College and including the existing parking lot at the Post Office Building. My predecessor had extensive consultations with the Judiciary on the design of the Complex. The plans we= re designed for Victoria Gardens. EDAW, in its Town Planning exercis= e has recommended that Victoria= Gardens would be a = better site for our Parliament. Architects at the Ministry of Works will consult w= ith the judiciary in the event that some redesign of the plans is necessary to accommodate the complex at the new site.&n= bsp; I should indicate My Lord that preliminary indications are that the state of the art Judicial Complex that will contain the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Industrial Tribunal will cost approximately $70 Million.

My Lord, after consultations with the President of the Industrial Tribunal it = has been agreed that, pending the completion of the Judicial Complex, the Industrial Tribunal will be relocat= ed to the Pride Rock Building on East Street North.

       My Lo= rd it has also been agreed that some Magistrates will be relocated to that buildi= ng and that space in that building and the vacated Magistrates Courts will be = used to establish full time Traffic Courts.

       We al= so hope within the first quarter of 2007 to relocate the Magistrates Court at Eight Mile Roc= k. Also in 2007 it is intended to exp= and the facilities of the Magistrates Courts in Abaco and Exuma. These steps are necessary given th= e existing and anticipated expansion of population in those areas. <= /p>

       My Lo= rd, I am happy to note that the integrated justice system about which you have sp= oken in more than one of your annual addresses is to commence operations. The Police System is working as a = stand alone system and is connected to the system at the Prison. I am advised that the system at the Supreme Court is working and is ready to be connected to = the Office of the Attorney General and the Police. The Office of the Attorney General= is completing the infrastructural improvements that will enable safe and relia= ble 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 Genera= l to each other.

       In anticipation of the completion of the infrastructural integration, we are working with the Registrar to engage a Consultant to implement recommendati= ons 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.

       My Lo= rd, strong focus is being brought to completion of this project. If it functions as designed, the immediate result will be more efficient utilization of court time. The system is designed = to prevent time conflicts in terms of double bookings of matters and lawyers a= nd other such inefficiencies that continue to plague the administration of jus= tice and cause grave inconvenience to litigants.

       My Lo= rd, as a part of the thrust to increase efficiency through the use of technology, a team member of The Merrill Corporation, now the owner of Smith Bernal, and = the company responsible for court reporting in the courts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore and now consulting in Dubai, visited The Bahamas late la= st year. Meetings were held with the Court Reporters, the Courts (including in= Freeport) and the= Bar. We are now considering a proposal for a pilot project to evaluate the feasibil= ity of secure digital recording and storage of all judicial proceedings and how= we might provide for immediate availability of transcripts in selected proceedings, to be agreed.

       My Lo= rd, the state of art judicial complex, combined with the system of integrated justice, and its processes, together with the immediate availability of transcripts, are all designed to result in more efficient communication, wo= rk flow and utilization of time for all charged with the responsibility of adm= inistration of justice.

Integrated Justice will also positively impact civil matters…<= /p>

SJ noble ideal…

SWIFT… JUSTICE….these words are integrally linked…they cannot be separated… …cannot have justice if it is delayed….

SJ… requirement of PC and Bahamian public…rather than demonize it… = Bahamian public demand that those charged with the responsibility of the administrat= ion of justice get behind it and make it work

It can work…it must work… and Progress is being made by those alre= ady dedicated to making it work…

We all depend on it and everyone needs to support the concept…

We note that there are systemic problems that have existed for decades. These cannot be solved overnight.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> This is why I invite:

1.&n= bsp; Defence lawyers

2.&n= bsp; Investigators

3.&n= bsp; OAG charged with the presentation of cases

Invite us all to reflect on our duty to Bahamian public…ask ourselves whethe= r we are working together to do al= l we can do to serve the Bahamian pub= lic

Together we must address the backlog of cases and enable efficiency and the swift hearing of matters before our courts…

Administration of Justice is complex…served as CJ of Canada said when all involved s= eek open communication, understanding and respect differing views and in that spirit of mutual respect, seek solutions to the problems and challenges tha= t will inevitably arise

Thanks to Chief Justice for his constant example of respect, open communication and willingness to seek solutions…

       My Lo= rd, significant changes are also being implemented at the Office of the Attorney General. The team of dedicated professionals who I have the privilege to le= ad is committed to the use of technology for greater efficiency. We aim to provide the capacity for persons with matters before us to go “on line” and track the progress of their matters through our Chambers. We are committed to greater accountability and transparency.

       My Lord, I wish to thank you= and through you all of your brothers and sisters for the courtesies shown my te= am at the Office of the Attorney General. I want to assure you that the hard working professionals on my team and I take seriously our oath of office…to truly and honestly demean ourselves as counsel and attorney of the Supr= eme Court in that and every other court in which we practice in The Bahamas. We are not looking for notches on = our belts or for a thank you. We are trying, with the resources available to us= , as officers of the court, to serve the Bahamian public to the best of our ability.
       We’re not perfect and where we fall short we encourage criticism…but criticism should be positive and constructive criticism. …let us remember that we are all= in this together…this is our country… most of us have nowhere else= to go…



·= ;      =              Thanks to Judiciary Staff…

·= ;      =              Thanks to Snr Justice Allen

·= ;      =              Thanks to Acting Justice Carroll

·= ;      =              welcome Actg Justice Maynard

Look forward to the Repor= t of Judicial Review Commission for many reasons, including the hope that one of= its outcome will be to encourage more Bahamian counsel to be attracted to the Bench.

<= /p>
·= ;      =              Bereavements at the Bar

Winston Saunders

My Lord, your calm judicial temperament, skillful leadership and example guided the judiciary through recent high winds, strong currents and tumultuous sea= s. Through it all, the courts have remained open, judges continue to work hard, hearing matters and delivering judgments.

Personal support and that of team and resources to partnership for strong system of administration of justice.

We will continue to work in partnersh= ip with the judiciary to ensure that justice is done and that every citizen may exercise his or her constitutional right to have his or her matter heard be= fore the courts in a timely manner.

I wish you, My Lord, Justices, member= s of the Bar, staff of the Judiciary, and to all present here, continuing good health and a fruitful and effective year ahead.

&nb= sp;