By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

Prime Minister Philip Davis outlined a slate of judicial reforms on Wednesday during his keynote address at the Conference of Chief Justices and Heads of Judiciary of the Caribbean at the Baha Mar Resort.

He pointed to the opening of a new Family Court Complex in New Providence, the near completion of a Mediation Centre, and the digitisation of court filings nationwide as key efforts to ease case backlogs, build public confidence in the judiciary, and expand access to justice.

“Consideration, clarity, and closure is what our people deserve,” Mr Davis said.

Chief Justice Ian Winder opened the ceremony by welcoming delegates from across the region and introducing the theme, “Judiciaries in Transition”. He emphasised the need for digital innovation and regional cooperation to improve judicial systems.

Mr Davis said artificial intelligence and remote hearings had made reform unavoidable, calling transition a necessity for delivering fair and efficient justice in the modern era.

He highlighted ongoing investments in infrastructure, including renovations to the Supreme Court in downtown Nassau and the planned completion of a Mediation Centre by summer’s end. He said the reforms are part of broader efforts to modernise the judiciary under the Needhams Point Declaration adopted by Caribbean leaders last October.

Those efforts include legislative changes to expand the number of Supreme Court judges, overhaul bail procedures, allow judge-alone trials, and strengthen pretrial case management.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder, who also addressed attendees, detailed a wave of legislative reforms meant to boost efficiency and reduce delays.

He said amendments to the Magistrates’ Court Act raised financial thresholds and widened jurisdiction over certain criminal and civil matters.

“The broadening of the jurisdiction of the Magistrates’ Court is intended to rebalance cases between the Supreme Court and the Magistrate Court,” Mr Pinder said.

He also cited the Court Services Act, which shifted administrative control of the judiciary from the executive to the judicial branch.

“This empowers the judicial arm of government by removing operational oversight from the central government,” he said.

Mr Pinder said increasing the number of Supreme Court judges from 20 to 25 was critical to tackling case backlogs and improving capacity. He added that amendments to the Bail Act introduced standardised conditions and provisions that automatically void bail when conditions are breached.

He said new legislation now allows judge-alone trials in the Supreme Court under specific conditions, including legal counsel and judicial consent.

Additional reforms include new criminal case management rules requiring defence statements and pretrial evidentiary hearings, as well as a bill to establish an independent commission to investigate judicial and law enforcement conduct.

“We have had an aggressive, tough, ongoing legislative agenda,” Mr Pinder said. “But this is not the end of our legislative agenda when it comes to the administration of justice.”

Mr Davis acknowledged the unique challenges of delivering justice in an island nation, citing mobile legal clinics and virtual court options at the Bahamas Department of Corrections as tools to improve access in the Family Islands. He stressed the importance of ensuring vulnerable people are not left behind.

“Innovation, education, and access go hand in hand,” he said. “Judiciaries in transition must stay tuned to the needs of the most vulnerable to ensure efficiency does not come at the expense of equity.”

The Tribune understands that digital infrastructure upgrades and policy guidelines for AI use in the judiciary are still being developed by the Ministry of Legal Affairs.

Concerns about public trust in the judiciary were raised during the opening ceremony. Mr Davis pointed to recent surveys showing low confidence and called for greater transparency and support for public defenders.

“What an individual believes about their justice system—whether it is open to them, whether it will work for them, whether it can deliver a resolution swiftly and soundly for them—will determine if and how they engage with it,” he said.

Addressing regional judicial leaders, Mr Davis urged them to act boldly in shaping the future of Caribbean justice.

“Let us do it with a clear moral vision of a justice system that is accessible and trusted by everyone,” he said.