Cabinet Agrees To Pump $$ Into Justice System

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BVI Platinum News

(PLTM) - Cabinet has agreed to allocate funding for additional human resources within the Territory's justice system and temporary accommodation for a second Magistrate's Court.

The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting held at the Financial Services Commission's Conference Room on May 28 with all members present except Minister for Transportation, Works and Utilities Hon. Kye Rymer, who was away on personal leave.

The post Cabinet statement stated that the proposal came from the National Security Council (NSC) for the Criminal Courts Transformation Programme for the period 2021-2023 at its meeting of February 10, 2021.

It further said the programme's report was on "Criminal Courts Transformation: Addressing the Backlog in the British Virgin Islands."

As such, Cabinet, "agreed to the strategies that have been identified to reduce the backlog; [and] agreed to fund temporary accommodation for the second Court, which is estimated to cost $300,000 in rental fees for a period of two years, including costs for outfitting (prison cells, air conditioning, and IT systems) and furniture until the completion of Phase I of the Halls of Justice Building."

It added, "[Cabinet] decided to allocate the sum of $180,000 to strengthen the linkages between the criminal justice sector and to build capacity; [and] approved additional funding of $617,800 to fill critical legal and administrative positions within the legal Departments."

Cabinet also agreed that the funding does not exceed $1,097,800.

The funds will be sought through supplementary appropriation and to be allocated to the relevant accounts, pending availability of funds, the statement added.

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