Chairman of the newly appointed Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC), Mr. Dan Scott says members completed a large agenda at their first meeting which lasted for two days (30-31 August). During this time, Mr. Scott said members worked primarily on setting the ground rules for the Commission’s working.
Mindful of costs, since four members are from overseas, the next meeting in October will be held by teleconference, Mr. Scott said.
Under Cayman’s new Constitution, the Commission will make recommendations to the Governor on appointments of Judges, Magistrates, the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The first appointment involving the Commission’s input will be a judge for the Grand Court which has one vacancy.
Another important task for the Commission will be to draft a code of conduct for the judiciary and a procedure for dealing with complaints. The JLSC will be creating a website that will provide general information on issues such as recruitment and allow the downloading of complaints forms, Mr. Scott added.
Members of the Commission are Ms Dara Flowers-Burke – Caymanian business woman; Sir John Chadwick – Judge in Guernsey and President of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal; Justice Edward Zacca – President of the Bermuda Court of Appeal; Sir David Anthony Simmons –Chairman of the Integrity Commission in Turks and Caicos; Justice Richard Ground – Chief justice of Bermuda; Mr. Richard Coles – Chair of the CI Human Rights Commission and Mr. Charles Jennings – Chair of Government’s Financial Services Legislation Committee.
