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Court should make better use of technology – Chief Justice Pereira

Her Ladyship the Hon. Madam Chief Justice Janice M. Pereira (right) is advocating for better use of technology within the judicial system. Photo:VINO
ROAD TOWN Tortola, VI – Her Ladyship the Hon. Madam Chief Justice Janice M. Pereira is advocating for better use of technology within the judicial system.

She added “That means not only the court itself but of course all of those bodies… which come together to address on our part, the administration of justice, whether it is the civil side or the criminal side, there are various units, all of which have to work together, including legal practitioners, to ensure the efficiency of the system.”

The Hon. Chief Justice stressed, “The court cannot simply, by a judge, perform that task on its own, it takes all the resource persons to actually make that system work together as a cohesive body and I think if we follow those rules and procedures, if we made better use of technology, then I think that what we will see is a system that is more efficient and responsive.”

She did note, however, that it was important to take into account that it [Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court] is a court which serves 9 member states, “so a part of the court no doubt will have to continue to be itinerant as the court of appeal is, in travelling from state to state.”

Justice Pereira added that there have already been measures put in place to take advantage of the use of equipment such as audio and video recording, especially in instances that require transcripts and also teleconferencing. 

She revealed that there have also been practice sessions done with some firms in the Virgin Islands, with regard to ensuring that e-filing of matters come on stream noting that other states are also keen to come on board with e-filing. She added, “instead of manually dealing with this mountain of paper, you will be able to enter the data and that data can be transmitted immediately so that any person who needs to search or have that information would have it readily available.”

Earlier Madam Pereira said, “It is of course a humbling moment for me when I was confirmed as the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Court.”

She expressed that her experience has since been interesting, adding that the work of the court continues. She noted the number of jurisdictions being served and expressed that the functions of the Chief Justice spans not only being the President of the Court of Appeal, but also being a Judge of the High Court as well in all of the nine Member States which includes three Overseas Territories.

Apart from this, the position requires her to be responsible for the Administrative functions of the Court throughout the various states.

Madam Pereira further expressed that it was an honour to be appointed to the position and hoped to take forward the work that her predecessors started so that they could see and continue to have a judiciary that is efficient, effective and independent in serving the people of the region.

Speaking with regard to her ascension to the position of Chief Justice in relation to the potential benefits for young people and particularly young women throughout the region and in the Virgin Islands (VI), she said “I hope that young ladies or even young men can appreciate that by taking the advantages of the education facilities which are available… once they take advantage of those opportunities and facilities, then they can in fact rise and take on their careers and in that way not only benefit themselves but will eventually emerge to the benefit of the Virgin Islands as well.”

She said it was a historical moment in the sense that she is the first female to have been appointed to the post but more meaningful for the VI is that she was a daughter of the soil and has lived here all her life and it will always remain her home and it makes her feel very honoured that persons were ecstatic about her achievement.

 

5 Responses to “Court should make better use of technology – Chief Justice Pereira”

  • sheila (20/11/2012, 15:31) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    i just love the dame
  • end game (20/11/2012, 22:22) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    this is great but me hope justice prevaile at the end of the day!
  • x factor (20/11/2012, 22:33) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Good luck Chief Justise, hope for the best.
  • BVI lawyer (21/11/2012, 04:05) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Amen. In big commercial trials the parties often ask for electronic transcripts to be brought in (at the parties' own expense) but the court reporting unit always blocks it, basically because they are afraid for their jobs if the technology caches on. But you cannot let a few people stop progress. BVI has world class courts, but we look backwards in terms of technology. As the CJ says, we need to move forward on this.
  • To "BVI Lawyer" (21/11/2012, 10:44) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    What do you mean by "electronic transcripts to be brought in"?

    Me


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