The Southern Assembly of Lawyers (ASL) is prepared to mount a fierce challenge to stop a variation to the Finance Act which has increased the limit of petty civil cases to $50,000, which they say is bound to exacerbate the backlog of cases in the magistrates court. This means that any legal dispute within that sum, including minor motor vehicle insurance claims, will now be determined in the magistrates courts, adding to the already overburdened system.
President of the ASL Imran Khan said the amendment was passed and assented to last month with no consultation from the Law Association or other stakeholders. The variation raises the petty civil court limit from $15,000 to $50,000. This means that civil cases which were once heard in the High Court have now been transferred to the magistrates court.
In an interview, Khan said the variation to the Act was meant to free up the number of cases in the High Court but that had backfired because nothing was put in place to deal with the increased number of cases at the magistrates court.
“The amendments came in without much fanfare and we are not aware that the petty civil was increased. When the word started to go around we planned to have an official seminar to invite correspondence and feedback on the amendments so as to seek consensus on the way forward,” Khan said. Based on feedback, Khan said most attorneys were upset with the new law.
“In theory it sounds good but it has had the opposite effect. If proper machinery is not put in place it will lead to frustration. In the High Court the system is much faster than magistrates court. When the matter goes to magistrates court, cases are adjourned for months and years so this law is only causing frustration,” he added.
Saying litigants would not benefit, Khan said in rural communities where there was one magistrate court, cases would be pending for years.
Meanwhile, former vice-president of the Law Association Hendrickson Seunath, SC, said it was nothing new for laws to be passed without proper consultation. “Their thinking behind this was to speed up the process at the High Court but it has not worked. There are larger issues here that must be dealt with. The whole justice system is in a mess because you do not have competent people,” Seunath said. He explained that it would be an injustice to litigants if matters took years to begin.
President of the Law Association Seenath Jairam was not available for comment and vice-president Gerry Brooks said he would speak on the issue today.
AG prepared to listen
In response, Attorney General Garvin Nicholas, in a text message response yesterday, said the amendment to the Finance Act came into force on January 27, which raised the limit for petty civil matters from $15,000 to $50,000. Told that the Law Association was aggrieved that it had not been consulted on the change in the law, Nicholas said: “You would appreciate that I came into office subsequent to 27th January.”
Nicholas assumed office on February 3, during a Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Pressed for comment, Nicholas stated: “I cannot account for something I had no hand in. I am, however, prepared to listen to the Law Association going forward. I can say that there are many initiatives of the Government that are designed to reduce the burden on the magistracy and deliver a better standard of justice to all.”
Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan declined comment, saying he was now just a private citizen. Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said he would look at the issue and make a statement today.