Appropriate court cases to be live-streamed on YouTube

The judiciary says appropriate court cases will be live-streamed on its YouTube channel as part of efforts to increase openness and transparency. 

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, who heads the judiciary, made the announcement at the swearing-in of two judges on Thursday. He said the move will include the trial courts.

“Going forward, we will be live-streaming appropriate cases. We want to do that both in the trial courts and in the appellate courts. It's easier to do in the appellate courts," Sykes said. 

"But we also want to extend that to the first instance courts as a part of public education generally and actually letting people see what happens in a court, and also reinforcing the right of access to the courts."

Sykes noted that the Court of Appeal had its first full broadcast in March.

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Meanwhile, starting on Monday, digital recordings will be introduced in the court system to assist with producing transcripts in a timely manner.

Justice Sykes said it is in the judiciary's continued thrust to improve efficiency in the courts.

He pointed out that over the last few years, one of the enduring problems faced by the courts was the untimely production of transcripts.

“It allows persons to go to the Court of Appeal to argue that because of the length of time that it has taken to have their appeal heard, they are [delayed] justice and, therefore, most times they are asking for the conviction to be quashed but, so far, the Court of Appeal has not acceded to that,” Sykes said.

He shared that it usually translates into a reduction in sentence if the Court of Appeal agrees. 

Sykes pointed to a recent case where an incident occurred in 2004 and the judge decided that because of the long delay, there would be a permanent stay issued.

“I'm not criticising the judge or anything like that, but just to make the point that the delays resulted in the case ultimately being dismissed. So, the defendant may very well be happy, but what about the victims? What about the persons whose relatives either witnessed the crime or were hoping that they would have their day in court? I think most of us would agree that an injustice was done there, because justice has to be balanced and take account of victims, defendants and the broader society that has an interest in the outcome of criminal proceedings,” he explained.

The new court term starts on Monday.

-JIS News