by Linda Straker
- Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court hosted Judgment Writing training for Judicial Research Assistants
- Training was to improve the quality and accuracy of court documents
Joshua John, one of the recently appointed Judicial Research Assistants (JRA) in Grenada, was among a group of 11 Judicial Research Assistants from 3 OECS territories who participated in a 2-day training course organised by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC).
In mid-April, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court hosted the Judgment Writing training for Judicial Research Assistants of the High Courts of St Lucia, Antigua and Grenada. They received training on judgment writing, preparation of digests and transcripts.
The 2-day workshop, according to a news release on the court’s website, was held at the Renham Building in Castries, St Lucia on Wednesday, 17 and Thursday, 18 April 2019.
The event for both newly appointed and experienced Judicial Research Assistants was facilitated by Her Ladyship Hon. Dame Janice Pereira, Chief Justice, Justices of Appeal, Her Ladyship Justice Gertel Thom, His Lordship Justice Webster, QC (Ag.) and Rochelle John-Charles of the Attorney General’s Office.
During the welcome, Justice Webster reminded participants that the training was not meant to reinvent the wheel but rather to “better use what you already know”.
The release said that the focus of the training was to improve the quality and accuracy of court documents and to achieve this, participants were heavily engaged in practical exercises over the 2 days.
“Emphasis was placed on the essentials of good judgment writing, proper vetting of digests and utilising quality control mechanisms in order to produce court documents which reflect a true and complete record of the court proceedings,” said the release.
The participants described the capacity development training as enlightening and timely which ultimately sharpened their writing skills, under the guidance of the Justices of Appeal. The training was conducted as part of the Judicial Education Institute’s (JEI) continuing education programme which seeks to provide continuous training and development to judicial officers and staff attached to the ECSC.
The JEI of the ECSC is a committee of the Office of the Chief Justice. The Institute is governed by the Chairman and the Management Committee which are appointed by the Chief Justice.
