Jamaican Justice System Reform Project - Press Release: CBA to Support Review of Jamaican Justice System

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CBA to Support Review of Jamaican Justice System

OTTAWA—The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) signed an agreement today with the Ministry of Justice of Jamaica to undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s justice system.

“The CBA is proud to lend its expertise in judicial reform to the Jamaican government,” said Andrejs Berzins, with the CBA’s International Development Committee.

Led by the Jamaican government and supported by the Canadian Bar Association, the objective of the review is to produce actionable recommendations designed to modernize the Jamaican justice system. A team of Canadian legal experts will work closely with Jamaican justice system professionals to develop the operational plan for the nine-month review.

The review will be a comprehensive examination of the Jamaican justice system’s existing institutions and processes, with the intent to develop a cohesive and broad-ranging strategy for its modernization. The review will look at the justice system as a whole, and specifically how all the parts can be streamlined to work together more effectively and efficiently. It also aims to introduce technological innovations across the justice system.

The signing ceremony for this agreement will take place today at 4:00 p.m. EDT at Government House of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaican Ministry of Justice officials will be joined by CBA Chief Executive Officer John Hoyles.

The CBA’s International Development Committee oversees the association’s programs abroad. The CBA has ongoing legal and judicial reform projects in China, South Africa and Bangladesh focusing on constitutional law, access to justice and the development of an independent, legal profession and judiciary.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

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CONTACT: Mélanie Raymond, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 148; E-mail: melanier@cba.org.