A young Bahamian attorney is expressing disappointment in the present infrastructural condition of the courts in New Providence, claiming that their dilapidated interiors will cause Bahamians to develop a sense of hopelessness in the judicial system.
Elsworth Johnson, an attorney-at-law and a tutor at The Eugene Dupuch Law School said yesterday, that something must be done about the bad conditions of the courts downtown. “You will have no respect for such a treasured institution, if you see that it is dilapidated.”
He said that the condition of the courts presently show where rain water has leaked inside and added that the buildings are uncomfortable, due to a lack of proper air conditioning and ventilation.
“The staff are not properly trained and the system is not even computerised completely,” Johnson went on to say.
He added that many times judges have to carry out their work in sweltering heat and often don’t even have simple calculators to carry out assignments.
“The court system is suppose to protect the rights of the people and when a person comes in and finds the system in disarray, they get the perception that the judicial system is joking.” Johnson said that the appearance of the courts is not indicative of the quality of work it produces and cautioned that this can cause foreigners to make inaccurate judgment calls on the system.
He said that with three prime ministers who have had extensive careers within the field of law, he is surprised that the courts have remained in the same condition for the past few decades.
“I don’t think it could have gotten to this point without someone deliberately overlooking the system,” Johnson said.
He mentioned that in comparison with The Cayman Islands and other Common-wealth nations, the Bahamian courts are embarrassing because they are about 20 years behind in technology and infrastructure.
“They need to bite the bullet and just build proper courts and stop telling people that you are going to do it. I don’t know how they are going to tax people for it, but when people lose respect for the judicial system, they will settle matters themselves.”
By: VIRAJ PERPALL, The Nassau Guardian
