By: PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

MEMBERS of the Bahamas Judiciary extended best wishes to outgoing Chief Justice Sir Brian Moree in a touching farewell event on Friday at the Magistrate’s Court Boardroom.

Senior members of the Bahamas Judiciary service including several magistrates and Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt praised Sir Brian for the notable changes brought into the system during his tenure in the post.

Sir Moree assumed the post of Chief Justice on June 12, 2019 after his predecessor Chief Justice Stephen Isaacs died. Upon Sir Moree’s retirement on August 4 Justice Ian Winder will inherit the mantle of Chief Justice on August 5.

While thanking Justice Moree on behalf of the Magistrate’s Court, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt pointed to some of the landmark reforms implemented in the judiciary under his tenure. These include extending the Magistrates bail granting jurisdictions and the introduction of the digital recording system through the speech to text court stenography initiative.

“The Chief Justice (CJ) would have not pioneered but he certainly endorsed and put the finish touches on our digital reporting unit and machinery and that is very very necessary. It’s not quite up to speed but the annals of history would record that the Chief Justice was responsible for making the speech to text feature come alive in the magistrate’s court,” Ferguson-Pratt said.

“And I want to pause there because I know when this project first came on stream that was one of the questions that I asked, ‘why do we not have that feature?’ And the technology was not to that point. But through the CJ we are able to be the beneficiaries of that very modern feature, which I am told is on the cutting edge of technology and it is very helpful. I have just been sitting in court taking evidence and the laborious process of hand taking notes. I am grateful that it will soon be something of the past.

“I also want to commend the CJ also for the bail management project which he has been very much instrumental in. You know there was a time when Magistrates had very limited powers in terms of who we could hear on bail applications. It was during the CJ’s administration that I believe he used his influence to ensure that a lot of powers and jurisdictions was returned to magistrates, particularly because we as magistrates hear the cases in any event. And it seemed a little bit of a paradox that we could hear the evidence of a case but we were not able to adjudicate on the question of bail.”

The Chief Magistrate also briefly touched on the mutual respect she shared with the outgoing Chief Justice before wishing Justice Moree well as he embarks on the next stage of his life.

“I don’t intend to give a blow by blow accounting of all the things the CJ has done. He has worked hard and as is normal in the general scheme of things we may not always agree but we have always had a respectful division of thought. And so I join with my colleagues CJ who wish you well.”

After her remarks Chief Magistrate Ferguson presented Chief Justice Moree with a commemorative plaque along with a painting and flowers as a token of their gratitude.

In his farewell remarks Chief Justice Moree said he was thankful for the gifts and expressed his sincere gratitude for their continued vital work in service of the nation.

He said: “I’d like to thank you for your lovely gifts which will be a constant reminder of my tenure. I have a feeling it will have a prominent spot in wherever my office is or in my study at home. Thank you very much. The magistrate’s court is obviously one of the most critical parts of the administration of Justice in the Bahamas. I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t know but I want to tell you directly. We’ve all said your volume of cases is more than the Supreme Court, more than the Court of Appeals and you have more people going through this building during the course of a week than some of the other levels of court have in the course of a month.

“A high volume of cases ranging from all sorts of different matters you have to have multiple skill sets and let’s be frank about it you’re not working under the best of conditions and that even makes the job more difficult. So, I want you to know that contrary to what others might say or what you might think, you have a profound respect and recognition of the role that Magistrates play in the court system towards the administration of Justice so I thank you for your service.”