Judiciary hosts study tour for Judges, other stakeholders from Jamaica

The Supreme Court of Judicature recently hosted a delegation from the Judiciary of Jamaica to conduct a study visit of the Digital Court Recording used in courts in Guyana.
The study visit was facilitated through multi-agency collaboration between the United States Embassy, the US’ National Center for State Courts (NCSC), the Judiciary of Guyana, and the Judiciary of Jamaica. The three-day study visit commenced with a formal opening ceremony on Monday, May 8 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

The opening ceremony was marked by remarks from Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, and other officials.
The study visit was designed to discuss the goals and e-initiatives of the Judiciary; the role of technology in the Judiciary; the history and development of use of the Digital Recording Systems within the courtrooms in Guyana, and to demonstrate the use of digital recording systems in the courtrooms in Guyana. Members of the visiting delegation benefitted from practical demonstrations of the features of Digital Recording Systems.
The participants were given step-by-step demonstrations from the beginning of recording a court case, and thereafter to the preparation of transcripts using the recording from the Liberty court recording software.
The Court Reporting Unit of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Guyana, which is led by Hector Edwards, and the Information Technology Department, which is led by Satya Ramnaryan, were both instrumental in the success of this study visit, the court said in a statement on Friday.
It was noted that the study visit was successful in allowing the participants to observe and learn from Guyana Judiciary Digital Court Reporting procedures, best practices, and challenges.
According to Guyana Supreme Court, it is looking forward to partnering with other agencies and courts of other jurisdictions to exchange experiences and best practices as “we seek to continuously improve our service delivery”.
The visiting delegation of 17 comprised Jamaica’s Chief Justice Bryan Sykes; Justice of Appeal David Fraser; Puisne Judge Leighton Pusey, Chief Judge of Parish Courts Chester Crooks; Parish Court Judge Marlene Roper; Assistant Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Ruth-Anne Robinson; Partner at Foga Daley Law Firm, Nicole Foga; Court Administration Division Director Tricia Cameron-Anglin; ICT Director, Court Administration Division, Evrol Bell; ICT, Supreme Court of Jamaica, Frank Wisdom; and Close Protection Officer Sergeant O’Neil Smith.
Officials from the US Embassy included INL Director Briana Jones and Althea McBean from the Pan American Development Foundation. JoAnne Richardson, Ken Cook, Gillian Lawrence, and Emma Nicoletta were officials from the National Center for State Courts.