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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Jurors May Receive Overdue Payment ( Gleaner )...</span>
WITH PLANS now in place to pay off legal-aid lawyers whose allowances have been outstanding for some time, the Ministry of Justice is also moving ahead to find a solution to another knotty issue - the payment of jurors.With some $13.4 million outstanding and representing several years of unpaid per diem allowances to individuals who are often asked to leave their jobs in order to sit and participate in legal trials, Robert Rainford, permanent secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Justice, said the ministry intends to seek support from the Budget."... By lobbying the Government for additional resources to be directed to this area, while simultaneously effecting cost-saving measures where possible."The lobby, he stated, will be underwritten by the ministry's commitment to bring to a successful conclusion cost-saving measures already implemented, which include energy-consumption strategies in the management of the ministry's fleet and changes to the ministry's telecommunication systems for reduction in bills.Investigation by The Gleaner indicates that some jurors who have participated in court trials have allowances outstanding from 2006.The Ministry of Justice budgets for this activity in its annual estimates of expenditure with $500 daily to be paid to each juror as "soon as possible".The amount budgeted for payment of per diem to jurors for this financial year 2010-2011 was J$2 million. An estimated 1,300 jurors are used throughout the court system during the financial year.But the amount owed to jurors this year far exceeds the budgeted amount.The PS said a total of J$13.4 million was outstanding, with J$6.38 million for the 2010-2011 financial year.In early December, legal-aid lawyers received the first payment on $30 million owed to the group of 320.Spending on existing projects for the Ministry of Justice has been cut from $35 million to $12 million in the supplementary Budget in the third quarter. Lawyers paidIn the medium term, however, the issue of payment of per diemallowance to jurors and other court costs might be resolved by changes under way at the ministry.Court functions are being transferred to the office of the Chief Justice to "allow the Chief Justice to have complete autonomy in relation to human resources, finance and accounting, auditing and statistical functions of the courts", as indicated in documents produced by the public sector transformation unit.A principal executive officer (accounting officer) has been appointed to head the unit, and a review of court fees is to be expedited.Rainford, in a written response, said the ongoing establishment of a new court management system will soon impact budgeting matters in a positive way."The establishment of the Court Management Service (CMS) will restructure the institutional framework through which administrativeservices are provided to the courts and further strengthen judicial independence."The Court Management Service will have responsibility for performing a range of court-related administrative services which are now carried out by the Ministry of Justice. The new agency will be more directly focused on assessing the needs of the courts and using its resources to serve this critical segment of the justice sector."
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Jurors May Receive Overdue Payment ( Gleaner )...</span>
WITH PLANS now in place to pay off legal-aid lawyers whose allowances have been outstanding for some time, the Ministry of Justice is also moving ahead to find a solution to another knotty issue - the payment of jurors.With some $13.4 million outstanding and representing several years of unpaid per diem allowances to individuals who are often asked to leave their jobs in order to sit and participate in legal trials, Robert Rainford, permanent secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Justice, said the ministry intends to seek support from the Budget."... By lobbying the Government for additional resources to be directed to this area, while simultaneously effecting cost-saving measures where possible."The lobby, he stated, will be underwritten by the ministry's commitment to bring to a successful conclusion cost-saving measures already implemented, which include energy-consumption strategies in the management of the ministry's fleet and changes to the ministry's telecommunication systems for reduction in bills.Investigation by The Gleaner indicates that some jurors who have participated in court trials have allowances outstanding from 2006.The Ministry of Justice budgets for this activity in its annual estimates of expenditure with $500 daily to be paid to each juror as "soon as possible".The amount budgeted for payment of per diem to jurors for this financial year 2010-2011 was J$2 million. An estimated 1,300 jurors are used throughout the court system during the financial year.But the amount owed to jurors this year far exceeds the budgeted amount.The PS said a total of J$13.4 million was outstanding, with J$6.38 million for the 2010-2011 financial year.In early December, legal-aid lawyers received the first payment on $30 million owed to the group of 320.Spending on existing projects for the Ministry of Justice has been cut from $35 million to $12 million in the supplementary Budget in the third quarter. Lawyers paidIn the medium term, however, the issue of payment of per diemallowance to jurors and other court costs might be resolved by changes under way at the ministry.Court functions are being transferred to the office of the Chief Justice to "allow the Chief Justice to have complete autonomy in relation to human resources, finance and accounting, auditing and statistical functions of the courts", as indicated in documents produced by the public sector transformation unit.A principal executive officer (accounting officer) has been appointed to head the unit, and a review of court fees is to be expedited.Rainford, in a written response, said the ongoing establishment of a new court management system will soon impact budgeting matters in a positive way."The establishment of the Court Management Service (CMS) will restructure the institutional framework through which administrativeservices are provided to the courts and further strengthen judicial independence."The Court Management Service will have responsibility for performing a range of court-related administrative services which are now carried out by the Ministry of Justice. The new agency will be more directly focused on assessing the needs of the courts and using its resources to serve this critical segment of the justice sector."