Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 22, 2020 (SKNIS): After a 38-year absence, a Law Library will be re-established in Basseterre, St. Kitts, following the dedication of the Annex at the Sir Lee L. Moore Judicial and Legal Complex.
The Annex is housed, in a newly constructed two-storey building on East Independence Square Street. It will feature a third Magistrate’s Chamber for District A, a Mediation Centre, and the aforementioned Law Library.
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Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, the Honourable Vincent Byron Jr. welcomed the new service, which was lost, during a fire on September 01, 1982. The fire destroyed the historic building, which housed the St. Kitts-Nevis Supreme Court and the Basseterre Public Library. The Law Library was a part of the Basseterre Public Library.
The attorney general highlighted the value of the Law Library while reporting on his ministry’s activities on December 21, 2020, during the Budget Debate. He said that the legal books, records, and documents would be open to legal practitioners, litigants, college and university students, and the general public.
“We have gotten over 364 books from IMPACT Justice from the assistance of Professor Velma Newton at Cave Hill, [UWI, Barbados] who has been able to source these books,” Honourable Byron Jr. stated, noting that they carry a $64,000 Canadian price tag. “Specialist law books on a wide range of matters have been selected and it now gives us the basis for solid support through our legal fraternity.”
The attorney general said the Law Library is “a major and exciting project” that the government was pleased to reintroduce for the benefit of the population.
The IMPACT Justice Project, which stands for Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean, is a Canadian-funded justice sector reform project. It assists 13 CARICOM member states including St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Annex at the Sir Lee L. Moore Judicial and Legal Complex will be dedicated in the new year.
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