Gov’t pays out $530m to settle court judgments, says Chuck
The Jamaican Government, through the Ministry of Justice, paid out $530 million in judgment debts for 193 matters during the 2022/23 fiscal year.
At the same time, a total of $680 million was approved for the fiscal year 2022/2024.
This was noted by Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck as he made his contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
“We are happy to inform Jamaicans that all judgment matters received during the fiscal year were honoured and paid in full,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chuck told the House that the Legal Aid Council (LAC) continues to bridge the gap between the disenfranchised and access to quality legal services. He said that in 2022/2023 the Council, with the assistance of empaneled attorneys, achieved the disposal of 2,388 court matters.
“The Council provided representation for a total of 5,809 court cases, with 2,917 of these cases representing duty counsel assignments and 2,892 representing legal aid assignments,” said Chuck.
He said the LAC continues to maintain within its purview, mentally challenged inmates remanded at the island’s penal institutions and last year afforded legal representation for 148 of those inmates.
The justice minister said the LAC intends to provide legal representation to more mentally challenged inmates for the current year and will be providing targeted services to persons with disabilities.
Additionally, the LAC has expanded access to legal aid through outreach and sensitisation programmes. These included the monthly dispatch of the Justice Mobile Units for community visits to urban and remote areas.
“The ministry is going into every nook and cranny of this country and to date the Mobile Justice Units have made 151 visits to deliver legal advice and complete legal assignments,” said Chuck.
To date, a total of 1,292 clients have received legal assistance at justice fairs hosted under the Alternate Justice Services Tour.
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