Ramesh responds to Judiciary: No reason to be puzzled

While the Judiciary is “puzzled” by statements made by attorney Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, in a newspaper report, the former attorney general responded that his statements have been misunderstood.

There is no reason, Maharaj said, for that misconception or for the administrative arm of the Judiciary to have been puzzled.

In a media release on Sunday, the Judiciary’s court protocol and information unit referred to an article quoting Maharaj as saying the Government and the Judiciary should consider equipping judges’ homes with video conferencing technology so that the law will not be interrupted.

Failure to do so, the senior counsel said, could lead to innumerable delays in case hearings and appeals. In his statement, the release said, Maharaj and the Guardian totally ignored the fact that hearings by video conferencing, during which judges and judicial officers, as well as support staff, are all at home, are well under way.

Newsday contacted Maharaj on Monday for a comment. In a media release. He noted the Judiciary’s release referred to several kinds of matters which are heard via video link.

“I stated amongst other things that at the present time, the judges of TT conduct certain hearings by video conference but those hearings are limited to chamber courts, interlocutory matters and in some cases the hearing of evidence of certain witnesses who may be abroad,” Maharaj said.

The Judiciary’s release said many cases have been held remotely, and that Maharaj himself participated in one in the third week of March from a remote location before Justice Vasheist Kokaram.

Maharaj said in that matter, Kokaram gave case management directions. It was not the hearing of an appeal itself.

He charged that the main thrust of the published statements was that the Privy Council heard an appeal from TT during a lockdown in England owing to the covid19 crisis. The hearing, he said, took place whilst five judges as well as lawyers were in their respective homes and offices, and not together in a court.

Saying he had been in private practice for over 50 years, he said he was not aware of any appeal heard in this country by any appeal court via video conference.

He challenged the Judiciary to tell the public whether that statement was inaccurate.

Judges, masters, magistrates, and registrars have been using Microsoft Teams and the audio digital recording system in the courtrooms remotely, the Judiciary said. They are holding sessions with parties and their lawyers, judicial support staff, digital voice writing and computer-aided transcription staff, all at home. They have been hearing matters virtually at home for two weeks.

Maharaj said he was happy to see from the Judiciary’s release that it is “considering” equipping judges’ homes with the necessary video conferencing technology.

“I was not aware of such intended reforms and I was not aware that such intended reforms were made public.”

It would be helpful for the Judiciary to tell the population, he said, whether those reforms would be completed for the hearing of appeals during the covid19 crisis.

The Judiciary said counsellors from the children’s court have been counselling children virtually from home. The Family Court social services have been doing likewise as well as mediators, mediating family disputes virtually from home for the past three weeks.

Charge cases are heard remotely from police stations, with no one in the actual courtroom.

“Also, with electronic filing, police are now able to file charges, and attorneys are able to file civil matters and appeals online,” the release said.

“For the time being, this is being done without the payment of a filing fee, as there has been a significant amendment to the rules of the court to provide for civil filings without fees until July 2020.”

The Judiciary said it was preparing a temporary video conferencing centre, using customised containers ,at Golden Grove, the Maximum Security Prison, and the Eastern Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre at Santa Rosa.

These video conferencing facilities, it said, will be put into use next week, with the one at Golden Grove being inaugurated on Tuesday.

“These add to those already in place at the Youth Training Rehabilitation Centre the Women’s Prison, Golden Grove Administration and Frederick Street.”

The Judiciary is also preparing technological solutionsfor several other emergency areas. These include hotlines for domestic violence filings and assistance in converting maintenance payment and receipt with the use of the CourtPay solution. The domestic violence and CourtPay assistance lines will be available on Monday.

It added, “At this time in which accurate information is so critical to our national well-being, the Judiciary asks the media to ascertain accuracy with the Judiciary before publishing in an effort to ensure that information presented is accurate.”