Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 23, 2019 (SKNIS): Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and Attorney General, the Honourable Vincent Byron Jr., said that judicial and legislative reforms have made justice more effective in St. Kitts and Nevis, during his appearance on Monday’s (July 22) edition of Straight Talk on Winn FM.
Attorney General Byron was at the time referring to St. Kitts and Nevis’s exceptional ranking relating to matters of justice on the World Justice Project Rule of Law for 2017.
“This is an area in which we are very proud because the World Justice Project has placed St. Kitts and Nevis as number 30 in the world in terms of its ranking. Again, only Barbados is ahead of us in this category in the whole Caribbean. And we are very proud that in this ranking as to the rule of law how we in St. Kitts and Nevis, how this government, this country has adhered to the tenets of good governance and the rule of the law in our country,” said Minister Byron. “It is one in which every single Kittitian and Nevisian should be very proud. We are number one in the OECS [Organization of Eastern Caribbean States].”
Minister Byron noted this is a clear indication that there is equality in the justice system.
“And so, it tells us that our government, our Team Unity Administration (TUA) in the conduct of its affairs has shown the way and one in which we feel that we are living up to the promise that the Team Unity movement when we came into office,” he said. “… We ran on two pillars. We ran on a prosperity agenda and we also ran on the need for us to restore democracy in our country.”
The attorney general said that a lot has been done to enhance the justice system in the Federation.
“We were able to establish a second High Court and a second judge, and we now have two judges who operate in our jurisdiction – one dedicated to criminal matters and one dedicated to civil matters – and there has been a significant improvement in the way in which matters are disposed of at the High Court level,” he said.
He added that work continues on the Sir Lee Llewellyn Moore Judicial and Legal Complex and that construction has begun on the Annex which will be situated where the old electoral office was once housed. The building will also house a third Magistrate Court Chamber “to help to dispose of more Magistrate Court’s work”.
