The physical infrastructure of the courts in Jamaica is a disgrace – Jess

Shadow Justice Minister Zuleika Jess made her maiden presentation to the Sectoral Debate  last week and a fine debut it was.

Crisis of Courts in the West

Madam Speaker, we cannot talk about a fair and accessible justice system when the physical infrastructure of our courts is an absolute disgrace. Seven months after Hurricane Melissa, the justice system in St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland isn’t recovering—it is battering for life. So, today, I must speak on behalf of the judges, the court staff, the attorneys and the thousands of ordinary Jamaicans who are being forced to search for justice in ruins.

The disaster in St. Elizabeth

Let us look at the proud parish of St. Elizabeth. The historic Black River Courthouse was battered by Hurricane Melissa. And what was this ministry’s brilliant emergency plan? To cram the displaced staff into the Santa Cruz Courthouse like livestock! Go to Santa Cruz right now, MS. The conditions are utterly degrading.

The Water Crisis At the Santa Cruz Courthouse

In January of this year, court staff were driven to absolute fury because they were forced to work in a building with no running water. No water for sanitation, no water for dignity. How can this administration boast about a modern justice system when our court workers cannot even wash their hands? Under this government, the wheels of justice aren’t just turning slowly—they are grinding to a dirty halt!

The Security 

But the lack of water is not even the most terrifying part. The security infrastructure under this minister’s watch has completely collapsed! Just months ago in Santa Cruz, it was reported in the newspaper that a member of the public barged straight into the court office, and grabbed a box of legal files that had been rescued from Black River! It took the court staff themselves—ordinary workers, not trained security personnel—to physically fight off the intruder and knock the files from his hands. This happened just a stone’s throw from the Santa Cruz Police Station! MS, when civilian court staff have to physically fight to defend the files, the Ministry of Justice has ceased to be a shield and has become a liability! 

The deception in Westmoreland

But let us move down the road to Westmoreland.

MS, the Westmoreland Parish Court is out of commission. Initially, the Minister boldly declared in November 2025 that the resources were available and that a contractor would be secured under emergency procurement to restore the courthouse in the shortest possible time. But a few moments later….what do we hear now? A complete, shameless flip-flop! Now, the Minister says it will be “too costly” to repair.

The Minister’s assurances carry no weight. First, the money was there to carry out the repair; now, the building cannot be repaired! This isn’t good governance; it’s pure double-talk designed to hide delay and incompetence! They are talking in circles to hide the fact that they are dropping the ball.

The Economic Toll on the People

And who pays the price for this flip-flop? The people! Because the Westmoreland court is compromised, ordinary residents are now forced to cross parish lines into Hanover to access the Circuit Court in Lucea! MS, think of the staggering economic punishment this inflicts on the people of Westmoreland. Think of the astronomical expenses for jurors, litigants, and lawyers who must find transportation and meals just to travel back and forth to Lucea day after day.

This Ministry has turned the right to a fair trial into an endurance trek! This is not administering justice; this is navigating an obstacle course – or a triathlon where our people have to sometimes swim, ride and run to get justice!

The Call to Action

The Minister of Justice loves to give lofty speeches about “first class justice system” and modernization. But I challenge the Minister today: leave your air-conditioned office in Kingston. Come down to St. Elizabeth. Come to Westmoreland. Work in a courthouse with no water. Pay the taxi fare from Savanna-la-Mar to Lucea yourself, and, if and when you find your way, you should tell the people why they must tolerate this incompetence!

This is a total abdication of duty! The government is failing the court staff, failing the judiciary and failing the Jamaican people!

Judiciary rebels against the Ministry

Don’t take my word for it—the Chief Justice himself explicitly stated that this Ministry is an unreliable partner! This statement was made after it was revealed that the judiciary had to use its own budget to carry out emergency court repairs in western Jamaica just to give judges a place to work! When the courts have to stop focusing on clearing case backlogs and instead start acting like building contractors just to put a roof over a judge’s head, that is not a success story—that is a total system failure!

Madam Speaker, there is absolutely no context that makes the words ‘unreliable partner’ sound good when they come from the head of the judiciary! Those words aren’t opposition talking points—that is a direct, unprecedented indictment from Chief Justice Bryan Sykes. When the highest judge in our land publicly states that the judiciary cannot trust the Ministry of Justice to provide basic, functional infrastructure, that is a vote of no confidence – it is equivalent to a life sentence without any chance of parole. It means the system is so broken that the courts have had to bypass the Ministry of Justice entirely, just to keep the doors of justice open. 

Hurricane Melissa was an act of nature, but this delay in restoring our Courts is an act of sheer incompetence! We are not blaming the Minister for the hurricane; we are blaming him for the total absence of a recovery plan. It does not take seven months to connect a water tank so court workers can wash their hands in Santa Cruz. It does not take seven months to post one or two police officers at a door so criminals can’t walk off with sensitive legal files. Other sectors are rebuilding, but this Ministry is using a seven-month-old storm as a permanent excuse for doing nothing. If the Chief Justice of Jamaica can find the resources in his own budget to fix court infrastructure, what is the Minister doing with his? And if he has none, is it that logistics has prevented the good Prime Minister from directing some of the barely touched disaster recovery funds to restore accessibility to justice in these hurricane-affected areas? Because I put it to you Madam Speaker, justice in this country is indeed a disaster in dire need of recovery.

I urge the Minister to commission and fund an Emergency Infrastructural and Security Audit of all Rural Courthouses across Jamaica. We demand immediate police security deployment for the Santa Cruz Courthouse. We demand clear timelines and immediate budget allocations for the construction of the St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland Parish Courts so the people can readily access justice because justice should not be stuck in the proverbial pipeline until the Prime Minister’s New City master plan is conceptualized, designed, and constructed.

Legal Aid Services

MS, too many ordinary Jamaicans are being completely locked out of the courts because this administration refuses to expand the categories of cases covered by legal aid. The Legal Aid framework is rigidly structured to primarily cover criminal matters. But what does the data actually say? The data conclusively proves that the vast majority of citizens requesting legal aid are begging for help with civil matters over criminal matters. According to the Legal Aid Council, 90 per cent of legal requests received from members of the public are for civil matters, particularly divorces tied to incidents of domestic abuse.

Madam Speaker, access to justice cannot be a half-measure. When a government limits legal aid to a narrow band of cases, it effectively closes the doors of the court to the poor. We see the consequences every single day in our courts: unrepresented litigants struggling to understand complex legal rules, overwhelmed judges trying to balance the scales, and ultimately, a breakdown of public trust in the rule of law. According to the Chief Justice’s Civil Division Statistics Report, over 16,000 new civil cases are filed in the Parish Courts every single year. The said Report shows that in up to 70% of these civil disputes, at least one party is completely unrepresented by counsel — forced to face a judge completely on their own while their livelihoods hang in the balance. It is a David versus Goliath battle where the state refuses to hand David not even a sling, much less a stone.

Madam Speaker, what makes this failure worse is that it has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of resources. Just recently, during the Standing Finance Committee right here at Gordon House, the Minister of Justice openly admitted on the record that the money is there! He proudly declared that the Ministry satisfied all claims by attorneys and has the fiscal space. Therefore, let us call this what it really is: a total lack of political will and complete indifference to the plight of the poor. The money is sitting in the treasury. The budget has the space. The Minister has publicly confessed that the capital exists. Yet, this administration chooses to let those funds sit idle while poor Jamaicans are crushed by legal fees or forced to forfeit their rights because they cannot afford an attorney.

This is a betrayal of the pledge to protect the poor and vulnerable. You cannot claim to run a fair society when justice is only accessible to those who can afford it. It is an insult to the intelligence of the Jamaican people for the Minister to boast about a surplus of funds while ignoring the 90 per cent of applicants who are begging for legal aid for civil matters.

The people do not want any more excuses. We do not want public-relations mobile units that can only give legal advice but leave citizens defenceless when a civil trial actually starts. We demand that the government stop hoarding these resources, listen to the data from its own agencies, and immediately amend the regulations to expand legal aid categories to cover civil matters. Stop locking the poor out of justice! I put it to you Madam Speaker that this is anything but equal rights and justice.

Justice for Justices of the Peace

Madam Speaker, I move to address a deep inequity in our community justice system: the total lack of financial support, stipends or expense coverage for Jamaica’s Justices of the Peace (JPs).

The Ministry of Justice expects over 7,000 JPs to render strictly voluntary service. They are forbidden from accepting any payment or reward. Yet the state relies on them to process bail, visit lockups, conduct mediations.  Active JPs must currently pay for their own stationery, printer, ink, and travel costs to courts and prisons out of their own pockets and even fund their expenses to serve in court as lay magistrates. This is not sustainable volunteerism; it is institutional exploitation.

Madam Speaker, the Minister of Justice continues to flatly reject proposals for a stipend. He calls it a pure voluntary post, ignoring that the cost of paper, gas, and electricity makes it a luxury only the rich can afford. True justice cannot run on charity alone.  The opposition demands a modernized framework for our JPs.

This administration is completely out of step with global trends. There is clear, established international precedent for the financial facilitation of Justices of the Peace, proving that volunteerism does not require a person to compromise their own livelihood.

The opposition urges the Ministry to look across the globe and recognize how modern democracies protect their JPs:

•        The United Kingdom Model: 

In the UK, Magistrates and JPs are also volunteers, but they receive a loss-of-earnings allowance and travel expenses. They do not pay out-of-pocket to serve the Crown. The state actively reimburses them for the costs incurred while delivering justice.

•        Global Multilateral Standards: 

Look at the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) system, the largest volunteer network in the world. They do not pay a salary, but they provide a structured volunteer living allowance. This ensures that service is not a luxury restricted exclusively to the wealthy.

•        The Australian and Canadian Frameworks: 

In jurisdictions like Australia and Canada, operational support, specialized training allowances, and localized travel subsidies are utilized. This guarantees that JPs are not financially penalized for witnessing documents or processing bail applications.

JurisdictionOperational ModelRemuneration FrameworkUnited KingdomVoluntaryFull travel, lodging, and loss-of-earnings allowance.United Nations (UNV)VoluntaryStructured volunteer living allowance and stipends.Jamaica (Current)VoluntaryAbsolute zero. JPs absorb all printer, paper, and transit costs. 

The Opposition is not calling for a lavish salary. We are calling for an enforceable, transparent stipend, modelled after international best practices. It is time to treat Jamaica’s JPs with the global standard of dignity they deserve. We pay notaries public to notarize documents and judges to hear cases, why shouldn’t we offer our JPs a stipend to cover out of pocket expenses?

The Firearms (Prohibition Restriction & Regulation) Act: Tying the hands of Justice

Madam Speaker, the primary duty of this House is to pass laws that deliver justice, not absurdity. I turn now to address a glaring crisis in our judicial system. The Firearms (Prohibition Restriction and Regulation) Act requires urgent, common-sense amendments.

I would be the first to join any sensible effort to be tough on crime because it is a monster that must not only be tamed but must be eliminated. I am also of the view that we are an intelligent and innovative people, especially when not hamstrung by partisan political considerations. That said, it befuddles me as to why we sometimes seek to use a hammer to swat a mosquito. This administration passed a law so poorly thought out that it has ceased to protect the public and has instead made criminals out of non-violent Jamaicans, including creatives.

Just weeks ago, a music producer was slapped with a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence—not for a real weapon, but for imitation firearms used as props in music videos! Not a single bullet could ever leave those plastic barrels. Yet, this state used a 15-year sledgehammer to crush a creative professional who posed no threat to public safety, effectively letting Parliament sentence the man instead of an independent judge! A prominent defence attorney recently lamented the sheer absurdity of this regime by revealing that the state actually wasted time and precious resources conducting ballistic tests on a cardboard cutout of a gun! Cardboard, MS! Under this regime, a cardboard cutout is being taken to a government laboratory to test if it can fire a bullet. Government forensic experts are ordered to perform ballistics on cardboard!

This legislation is so fundamentally broken that it triggered a rare, historic moment of absolute consensus: both prosecutors and defense attorneys stood together in total agreement, demanding that this law be amended immediately. When the state’s own prosecutors lock hands with the defence to say a law is unjust, it is no longer a tool against crime; it is an instrument of injustice.

Madam Speaker, this Parliament must act without delay. We must urgently amend this law to restore full, unrestricted sentencing discretion to our judges, and we must make these amendments retroactive so those currently suffering under this legislative failure can have their sentences reviewed.

Madam Speaker Justice is not just about a sentence handed down in a courtroom. Justice is a lived experience. This administration likes to paint a beautiful picture of justice. But my job today is not to admire the paintwork—it is to open the hood and examine the engine. MS, the engine of justice is making a terrifying rattling sound. If you want to hear that rattling noise, look no further than the corruption of compassion. 

Hurricane relief injustice

Following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, our people were promised relief. Donors sacrificed and gave generously to help families rebuild. Over $1.44 billion in cash donations poured into government hands. Yet, according to the Auditor General’s report, this administration spent a measly, insulting 1.8% of those relief funds up to February. 

While many Jamaicans are still sleeping under tarpaulins, while schools remain damaged, and while small business owners are struggling to rebuild, millions of dollars sit idle in government hands. Only 1.8% has trickled down to poor Jamaicans who lost everything. The Prime Minister, with honey coated words, admitted no failure by stating that they wanted to get the perishables out first. MS, is that a confession that the Government cannot multi-task? What would be the Prime Minister’s explanation for unused relief monies for Hurricane Beryl two years ago.

This is not just administrative incompetence. This is a profound case of injustice. It is a betrayal of public trust. The money belongs to the people, it was allocated for the people, yet the government hoards it while the people suffer. The people need justice!

Solidarity programme

Madam Speaker this administration announced a $1 billion Solidarity Programme to rescue 50,000 of our most vulnerable citizens. Yet, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security just issued a press release claiming that  $533 million was returned to the Consolidated Fund. They tell us that nobody “pocketed” the money. They tell us that returning $533 million to the Consolidated Fund was simply a legal requirement under standard financial regulations because the fiscal year ended. In other words, the Ministry’s best excuse is literally: “We didn’t steal it; we were just too slow to spend it before the deadline.”

But Madam Speaker, to the grandmother in my constituency who went to bed hungry last night waiting for her promised $20,000 grant, this rebuttal is a distinction without a difference! Whether it is called “pocketing”, “reallocating”, or “returning to the Consolidated Fund”, the brutal bottom line is that the money did not reach the people it was meant to save!

When more than half of a social relief fund bounces back to the central government, that is not justice. It is a clinical failure of execution on the part of the government that left 75% of the persons targeted without the benefit of that $20,000! That is not justice. That is the government acting as both the giver and the ultimate taker. The people need justice, not some strategic honey-coated words that this was strategic decision!

Surge in police injustice

Madam Speaker, the engines of justice are rattling across Jamaica, sparked by an alarming rise in police fatal killings. I will forever defend the Police’s right to defend themselves when face with devastating force from criminal elements who are determined to wage war within the society. I also would wish for the reputation of the Police Force to be protected by injecting transparency into their operations – visibility into their operations is a major antidote. 

The latest Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) data reveal that 133 persons have already been shot and killed by members of the security forces since the start of this year alone. The engine of justice is rattling. 

This rattling requires us to confront the dangerous rhetoric coming from the very top of our justice system. Instead of demanding accountability, the Minister of Justice recently responded to these tragedies by declaring that the law allows police to use “reasonable force,” including deadly force, to stop a fleeing suspect! To tell a grieving, terrified nation that running away gives the state a legal right to execute you on the streets is a grave mistake. The engines of justice demand protection of the right to due process, a fair trial and the presumption of innocence. Running away must never become an automatic death sentence, nor can we allow the Ministry to rewrite the law to justify street-side executions.

Madam Speaker, equally troubling is the Police  Commissioner’s dismissive response, defending police failures as being viewed through the lens of “hindsight.” When lives are lost, evaluating police actions is not an exercise in hindsight—it is a demand for foresight, training, the use of body worn cameras and basic human rights. When the Police Commissioner, in the wake of public outcry, tells his rank-and-file officers “not to become paralysed by criticism”, he is building a wall of institutional arrogance. He is telling his men that they are above the law, above the people and above accountability!

 Madam Speaker, this rattle in the engines of justice signals a system under immense strain. We must listen to this sound and respond by strengthening our policing framework to ensure updated training in de-escalation tactics and the implementation of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) by police officers, especially during planned operations. The people need justice!

Infrastructure as a form of justice

MS, justice means different things for different people. Justice is a smooth road for the people of NE St. Elizabeth who just want to reach home safely. Neglected roads are not just an inconvenience; they are a denial of justice.

The people of Aberdeen, Bogue, Pepper, Southampton, Santa Cruz and right across NE St. Elizabeth are crying out. They are navigating potholes and breakaways that destroy their vehicles, disrupt business and threaten to cut off access to communities, such as Abraham. 

Madam Speaker, the continued neglect of our critical crossings is unacceptable. Windsor Bridge is on the verge of collapse and Grosmond Bridge is a ticking time bomb. This is not just a failure of engineering. This is a failure of infrastructural justice! The urgent repair of these bridges is a matter of life and death. The people need justice!

Spark Injustice

The absolute peak of injustice—the ultimate betrayal of public trust—is the scandalous execution of the SPARK road rehabilitation programme in our constituency. The former Member of Parliament handpicked 10 roads for repair. All 10 roads are from one single division— one division — the sole JLP controlled division. 

Meanwhile, the three PNP-controlled divisions have been completely left off the SPARK programme. Not one single road was selected from Braes River division. Not one single road was selected from Siloah division. Not one single road was selected from Balaclava division. Not one! 

The three divisions represented by the People’s National Party (PNP) have been completely starved of resources under SPARK, receiving zero road allocations. This is not justice. This is political victimization! This is the weaponisation of public funds to punish people for how they vote. It is corrupt, it is malicious, and it is a dangerous denial of justice to the thousands of people in NE St. Elizabeth. The people need justice!

Conclusion

Madam Speaker, while this administration presents a polished exterior, the engine of justice is rattling. On this side of the aisle, our vision is a justice system where the poor mother in Elim does not have to choose between paying a lawyer or paying for groceries.

We envision a justice system where if you run in fear from a system that terrorizes you, you are not executed on the streets while the police high command defends the trigger-happy!

We see a Jamaica where top paying jobs in multi-billion dollar state agencies are distributed by merit and not by DNA. True justice cannot exist where the hiring process somehow conveniently narrows down to a branch on the family tree.

True justice cannot exist where nepotism is perfectly fine as long as you hire an “independent” panel to hand your political or blood relative the job.

Justice belongs equally to the farmer in Moneague, the vendor in Santa Cruz, the fisherman in Black River and the child growing up in every district across this country. Under the leadership of Mark Golding, that is the Jamaica we seek to build, and that is the fight we will continue to wage from the halls of Parliament to the streets.

Madam Speaker the current state of the justice framework and infrastructure under this Administration has been weighed on the scales of justice, measured in the court of public opinion, and has been found wanting and unbalanced. I put it to you, MS, that even the late great Sir Alexander Bustamante would agree that this is not EQUAL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE which should be this Administration’s everlasting cry!

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rest my case.