by Curlan Campbell
- E-Litigation Portal introduced in 2018; Grenada joined in June 2021
- Prior to portal, approximately 2.6 million sheets of paper were produced annually for document filing in cases submitted to ECSC
- 7,742 cases were filed in High Court and 454 cases in Court of Appeal in 2023, with each case typically no less than 100 pages of documentation
Acting Chief Justice, His Lordship the Honourable Mario Michel, referred to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) as a “virtual paper factory” due to the massive amount of paper generated for court proceedings.
His keynote address at the traditional ceremonial opening of the New Law Year 2025, broadcast live from St Lucia to the 9 member states and territories, highlighted a concerning reality. Before the implementation of the electronic litigation portal (E-Litigation Portal) across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member territories, it was estimated that approximately 2.6 million sheets of paper were produced annually for document filing in cases submitted to the ECSC.
The E-Litigation Portal, introduced in 2018, is an integrated e-filing and case management web-based application that transformed traditional court document filing into an efficient, cost-effective, transparent, and reliable process providing court users and all stakeholders with access to assigned services anytime, anywhere and on any device, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.
Grenada’s court system officially joined the virtual platform in June 2021, followed by St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica in October, and finally Montserrat in December 2024, marking the integration of all member territories on the portal.
The Acting Chief Justice clarified that when more than 2 parties are involved in a case, additional copies of documents must be submitted for each party participating in the proceedings. For cases in the Court of Appeal, a minimum of 6 copies of every document must be filed with the court office.
7,742 cases were filed in the High Court and 454 cases in the Court of Appeal in 2023. Each case typically includes an average of no less than 100 pages of documentation, which encompasses statements of case, witness statements, submissions, and exhibits. Moreover, each Court of Appeal case requires at least the same amount of documentation, including notices, court notices, transcripts of proceedings from the lower court, and submissions.
The Acting Chief Justice stated, “When we calculate the total, considering that at least three copies of each document must be filed in the High Court and 6 copies in the Court of Appeal, we find that approximately 2,600,000 sheets of paper are generated annually for filing documents in all cases within the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.”
With the completion of the E-Litigation Portal, His Lordship noted that the court is experiencing significant benefits, particularly a noticeable reduction in paper usage. He explained that since the onboarding process was finalised in December 2024 for all matters filed in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, parties are required to download only the originating documents for service to the opposing side. This includes the claim form and Statement of Claim for High Court cases, as well as the notice of appeal for Court of Appeal cases.
“This change results in approximately 116,000 sheets of paper being used for High Court cases and about 4,500 sheets for Court of Appeal cases, yielding a total of around 120,500 sheets of paper each year for the institution and conduct of proceedings in both courts. Overall, this leads to a net saving of about 2.5 million sheets of paper annually. Although some estimates may vary, the results are undeniably impressive,” he explained.
Meanwhile, His Lordship stated that the introduction of AI technology commenced in 2024 and will continue in 2025, and so will the public education programme.
Referencing the work undertaken by the court in terms of tackling the backlog of cases, he stated that while the statistics for judicial work undertaken by this court in 2024 are not yet available, figures from the previous year already showed promising signs of reduction of backlog. In 2023, a total of 7,742 cases were filed in the high courts in the 9 member states and territories of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, whilst 8,083 cases were disposed of, this is a clearance rate of over 100%.
“The high courts as a collective are hearing more cases that are being filed so that a dent is being made on the backlog of cases in the system. This is a promising indication that we have begun to reduce the case backlog,” he said.
The Acting Chief Justice noted that this marks the third consecutive year with a clearance rate exceeding 100%. The clearance rate increased from 68.13% in 2021 to 104.4% in 2023. However, these rates are not uniform across the board; they vary significantly, ranging from 256.4% in Antigua and Barbuda to just 34.62% in Dominica. “The upward trend in the overall clearance rates may be credited to the impact of the implementation of the first 2 phases of the electronic litigation portal across all of the member states and territories,” he said. “But robust measures are required to bring up to speed the states and territories with clearance rates of below 100% particularly those with clearance rates as low as 34.62%.”
His Lordship noted that despite the relatively small size of the appellate bench, 454 matters were filed in the Court of Appeal in 2023. The court heard 324 cases during full court sittings and 499 matters in chamber hearings. He added that the Court delivered 97 written judgments and 473 oral judgments. “Similar to the High Court, there is currently a clearance rate of over 100% for matters filed in the Court of Appeal. It is evident that the Court of Appeal is managing a very heavy caseload, which is significant given the limited size of the appellate bench.”
“Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court have been performing exceptionally well in terms of clearance rates for matters filed and the timely delivery of judgments. This level of performance, I might add, compares very favourably with courts in the Caribbean region.”
