The island’s Criminal Justice System will come into sharp focus again today, Monday, May 8, during a symposium being hosted by the Office of Attorney General.
Part Two of the Symposium on the Criminal Justice System in Barbados will be held at the Hilton Barbados Resort, and participants will include members of the judiciary and magistracy, the Barbados Bar Association, and civil society.
The Barbados Bar Association and Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds from Trinidad will make presentations. At the end of the session, concrete actions on the way forward are expected.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall, reiterated the importance of the discussions, saying that useful suggestions had already emanated from the first meeting, which was held in April.
“The reform of our Criminal Justice System is absolutely necessary, and I look forward to actionable results from the upcoming session. We had robust discussions on the first occasion, which reflected the stakeholders’ commitment to the process and desire to see an improvement in the system,” Mr. Marshall stated.
The Attorney General is on record as saying that a candid discussion on criminal justice reform was long overdue. He added that a key deliverable from the symposium would be the establishment of a Criminal Justice Sector Committee to monitor implementation of the initiatives and decisions coming out of the symposia, as well as receive feedback from all stakeholders.