Criminal Bench Book, Disability Awareness Guidelines launched to improve administration of justice

Guyana now has a Criminal Bench Book which is intended to aid Judges and other Judicial Officers in improving the administration of justice. The Criminal Bench Book for Guyana, Barbados, and Belize, and the Disability and Inclusion Awareness Guidelines, were officially launched on Friday, March 31, by the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers (CAJO).
The Criminal Bench Book comprises 28 chapters. The first 23 chapters open with general principles in the subject area of law and then narrow down to provide jurisdiction-specific principles, directions, and guidelines for the three individual jurisdictions respectively. “

The final five chapters are novel in that they address areas of judicial attention that are newly emerging, constantly developing, and increasingly relevant to Caribbean justice.
These are: Criminal Case Management; Judge Alone Trials; Procedural Fairness; Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and Human Trafficking, Forced Labour, and Modern Slavery. Chairman of the CAJO, CCJ Judge Peter Jamadar described the publications as “useful tools” that have been crafted in record time—14 months.
While the availability of this publication ought to be celebrated, he said that the focus should remain on the meaningful use and application of these tools.
“The use of these tools towards advancing justice across the Caribbean, ensuring that each person has unfettered and equal access to justice.  That each person enjoys the full plenitude of their rights,” Justice Jamadar noted in his speech at the launch of the publications.
The Disability and Inclusion Awareness Guidelines, on the other hand, are intended to provide Caribbean judiciaries and judicial officers with a practical tool for further developing and implementing key practices and procedures that promote and secure the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly in the administration of justice. The guidelines are fashioned in three parts: (I) the introduction which provides an in-depth look at constitutional, ethical, and international underpinnings of the rights of persons with disabilities; (II) The guidelines themselves which are across 10 key areas of disability inclusion and awareness; and (III) a background to the development of these guidelines, along with additional resources.

Sharing details about the use of the Disability and Inclusion Awareness Guidelines was Vice-Chairman of CAJO, acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC. According to Justice George, it is strongly recommended that these guidelines be studied and revised for contextual adaptation by regional judiciaries and judicial officers.
“While many of the guidelines may be readily implementable across judiciaries, the needs and realities of persons with disabilities vary across the Caribbean and as such, the guidelines in each jurisdiction ought to be informed by and reflect such needs,” she advised. To this end, she said it is imperative that judiciaries meaningfully work with persons with disabilities and disability-representative organisations when adapting these guidelines for local use and implementation.
The CAJO, a non-profit organisation that brings together the Caribbean’s Chancellors, Chief Justices, Judges, Masters, Magistrates, Tribunal Members, Executive Court Administrators, and other judicial staff, collaborated with the Canada-funded Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) Project on developing the two publications. The JURIST Project (2014-2023) commenced after the signing of a Contribution Arrangement between the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
The Government of Canada is providing CAD 19,400,000, while the CCJ as the executing agency, and other regional partners will contribute CAD 1,441,689 and CAD 2,883,327, respectively.
The JURIST Project, among other things, is working with judiciaries in the Region to support their own efforts to improve court administration and strengthen the ability of the courts and the judiciary to resolve cases efficiently and fairly. The Project is also building the capacity of regional trial and appellate courts, including the CCJ, to facilitate the deepening of economic integration and improve court governance, case flow management, and the timeliness of case disposition.