Annual Report of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago 2012-2013 Annual Report 2012-2013 | Page 13

The Family Court

How the Courts Operate

The Family Court, with arms of both the High Court and
the Magistracy, is a special problem solving Court, intended
to develop, implement and evaluate alternative approaches
and improve services to citizens seeking help from the
Judiciary in dealing with family disputes. Since its inception, the Family Court has implemented and evaluated a
number of innovations. These include the development of
a unified Court Office for both High Court and Magistrates’
Court matters, and ensuring that customers have access to
a multi-door/one-shop Court that includes on-site alternative dispute resolution processes such as mediation, intake,
social work intervention, probation and child and youth day
care services. Initial operations were restricted to the St
George West jurisdiction, but approval has been granted by
the Cabinet for the roll out of the Court to other locations,
beginning with San Fernando where the old St Joseph’s
Convent building has been acquired for this purpose.

As provided under the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution,
only the Judiciary can determine who is to prevail in
conflicts that arise between individuals; between Government and the governed, including those accused by the
State of disobeying the law; between individuals and corporations; and between organizations, both public and
private. Courts resolve disputes by applying the law to the
facts of particular cases, independently and impartially. In
a Court, every party has the absolute right to an arbiter who
is neutral and independent of the parties to that case and
their advocates. In the Magistracy, High Court and the
Court of Appeal the arbiters are Magistrates, Puisne
Judges, Masters, Registrars or Assistant Registrars, and
Justices of Appeal, respectively.

Department of Court Administration
The Department of Court Administration (DCA), a professional management department, headed by a Court Executive Administrator (CEA) provides support to the Court and
its Judges in the performance of their core function of
delivering justice. The DCA operates, in effect, as an
extension of the Judge’s mandate for managing the Courts
and their cases under the direction and supervision of the
Chief Justice. With a range of specialised units under its
purview, the DCA’s role involves the study, review, implementation and management of the systems, procedures
and processes utilised to manage cases brought before the
Courts. It also ensures that case flow management
techniques are adequately supported for minimum delay
between the filing and disposition of a case, while ensuring
due process is afforded equally to all who appear before the
Courts. In this regard, the DCA’s role has not only been to
ensure that cases are managed efficiently and effectively
from commencement to disposition, but also, and most
importantly, to preserve, through that management, impartiality and integrity in the adjudication process as gatekeepers of the principles of due process.

The Judiciary is obliged to ensure that all who come before
the Court must be treated respectfully, fairly, and equally,
that their cases must receive individual attention, that the
law must be correctly applied to the facts, and regardless of
economic or other status, they must receive equal access.
The processing of cases and the application of the law
to the facts in individual cases must be consistent and
predictable.

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Reshaping the

Judiciary Identity