Annual Report of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago 2012-2013 Annual Report 2012-2013 | Page 106

EXPEDITION AND TIMELINESS

(including as it relates to Access to Justice and Public Confidence)

The Family Court acknowledges the importance to customers of having
their cases come before a judicial officer within a timely manner. Thus
it is important that the Court closely monitor the actual time intervals
between filing and determination. In the Family High Court certain
standards for the time intervals between events are embodied in the
Rules of Court. For instance, all matters filed in the High Court must
have a first appearance before a Judge within eight weeks of filing.
Although it is recognized that the standard is a very ambitious one,
instances of matters not reaching the standard should be rare.
Figure 9 illustrates that by the sixth year, 2009/10, the Family High
Court had maintained a high standard, with 87% of its matters having
a first hearing within 8 weeks – and 11% without a hearing after nine
weeks. In 2010/11, however, the Family High Court suffered a considerable drop in percentage, with 70% of the Family High Court matters
having a first hearing within eight weeks of filing and an expected, yet
severe, increase of 17% were without a first hearing within 9 weeks of
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