By Abass Jalloh
Sierra Leone’s Chief Justice, Desmond Babatunde Edwards, has urged Magistrates across the country to ensure that cases that fall under the Small Claims Commercial Court be completed within a month.
Justice Edwards was speaking on Tuesday 27 September at the High Court No. 1 in Freetown during the start of a three-day nationwide professional training organized for all Magistrates by the Judiciary of Sierra Leone through the Judicial and Legal Training Institute (JLTI) with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP
“The objective of this court is to speedily conclude those matters brought before the court, and adjournments should not be more than 72 hours. It should be expeditious, effective, and fair, without fear or favour,” he said.
The Small Claims Commercial Court is a local court where cases can be heard and decided quickly and cheaply, without legal representation.
The training focused on the management and administration of court and local court appeal cases, managing ethics and integrity issues at magistrates' courts, the jurisdiction of magistrates' courts, adjudications of the Small Claims Commercial Court, and feedback on the justice case management application.
The Chief Justice stated that while the Small Claims Commercial Court is among the specialized courts established under his watch, the progress made after the setting up of the Fast Track Commercial Court necessitated the setting up of the Small Claims Commercial Court at the Magistrates' Courts to handle claims below fifty thousand Leones (NLe 50,000) “expeditiously without sacrificing justice”.
In his presentation on Adjudication of Local Court Appeal Cases, the Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Monfred Sesay, explained about the District Appeal Court which is superior to the Local Courts but inferior to the High Court.
"It is of the same status or in the same rank in the hierarchy as Magistrates' Courts, It consists of a magistrate of the Judicial District sitting with two assessors selected by the magistrate from a list of experts in Customary Law drawn up by the District Officer," Justice Sesay said.
During his presentation on issues of bail, convictions, and sentencing at the magistrates' courts, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Nicholas Browne-Marke, spoke about the methods of bringing criminal cases to court, elucidating on summary trials and preliminary investigations (PI).
Presentations were also done by Supreme Court Judge, Alusine Sesay, and Court of Appeal Judges, Reginald Fynn, and Komba Kamanda.
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