Divorce cases clog judicial system
November 23, 2008
AMENDMENTS TO the Matrimonial
Causes Act in September 2006 and the resulting procedural changes have caused a backlog in divorce cases filed in the Supreme Court.
The clogged chamber, The Sunday Gleaner understands, is causing great hardships for divorcing Jamaicans, many of whom wish to remarry and sort out their financial affairs, but are unable to do so.
A 42-year-old administrative assistant in Kingston says she filed for divorce 13 months ago and is still waiting for the annulment to be finalised.
"All I keep hearing is that there is no judge to sign. It's affecting me because I want to move on with my life and my ex-husband wants to move on with his life," the woman says. "My lawyer tells me there is nothing she can do. I was told that after I got the decree nisi, I would have to wait another six weeks to get the decree absolute, but it's long overdue. This is also affecting me financially," she adds.
In September 2006, the amendment of the Matrimonial Causes Act, following on the Privy Council ruling in the Eldemire and Eldemire case, meant that divorce cases were no longer held in chambers, but were to be granted on the basis of documents presented in the case file.
Opposite happening
The change was intended to make divorce an easier process, but instead, the very opposite has happened, with increasing com-plaints by those affected.
"I have been having some delays and my clients are not pleased at all. They have been calling on a regular basis," attorney-at-law Keith Bishop confirms.
Margarette Macaulay, another Kingston-based attorney-at-law says, "Every single lawyer that I know has had problems."
Macaulay believes the cause of the backlog is rooted in the lack of preparation and training in response to the legal change in 2006.
"Basically," says Macaulay, "we have new rules being applied by old minds. People have been, for years, operating under the old rules and all of a sudden, the new rules were just put in place without any notice."
Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) indicate that in 2007, divorces plunged in number to 1,140, coming from 1,768 in 2006 and 1,806 in 2005. However, the STATIN researchers note that the smaller number of divorces absolute does not represent an actual decline, but is due to changes in the Matrimonial Causes rules, which have caused a considerable backlog in divorce petitions.
Some lawyers have suggested to The Sunday Gleaner that judges be assigned solely to divorce duties on particular days of the week, otherwise the backlog will not be cleared....
Author: Avia Collinder
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
