The United Kingdom’s Caribbean Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) has provided EC $ 200,000 to six countries in the Eastern Caribbean to facilitate remote operations of the Magistrates Courts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds will be used to purchase equipment including laptops, printers, scanners, mobile phones and Zoom subscriptions. The equipment and use of technology will allow the courts to make a smooth transition to the digital delivery of some essential services and limit substantial disruption to the criminal justice process.
The Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), Dame Janice Pereira, had already urged courts to use remote hearings to facilitate the continuation of proceedings and prepared guidance on how these matters were to be conducted in a Practice Direction issued in relation to Covid-19 emergency measures.
