Annual Report of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago 2012-2013 Annual Report 2012-2013 | Page 19

Court
Performance
Continuing increased demands on the Courts of the
country were reflected during the 2012-2013 Law Term.
In the Appeal Court, for instance, 548 matters were filed,
including Family and Petty Civil, while 578 were disposed.
These figures represent an increase in the activities of the
Appeal Court over the previous year when 482 matters
were filed and 385 disposed.
In the case of the High Court, in the Civil Registry 5,230
matters, both trial and non-trial, were filed while 5245
matters were determined. In terms of the Civil Registry
the data reveals that the performance remained fairly
constant when compared to the 2011/2012 Law Term
when 5,228 matters were filed and 5,439 determined.
In the Criminal Registry, 339 indictments were filed with
91 being disposed. This represents an increase from 116
indictments and 64 disposed matters in the previous Law
Term. The 2012-2013 totals are indicative of a significant
increase in the workload in the Criminal Registry when
compared with the year before.
In the Matrimonial Registry 2,922 divorce cases were
filed. During this same period 1,833 Decree Nisi and 1,645
Decree Absolute were granted. A total of 3,488 Probate
applications were filed, while 3,538 applications were
disposed. During the corresponding period in 2011/2012,
a total of 3,921 Probate applications were filed, and 2,820
were disposed.

The Family Court was one of the projects looked at in Trinidad and Tobago by a team of regional professionals
participating in a Caribbean Leadership Project, an advanced training exercise for top professionals of the
Public Serrvice. In picture Mr Justice Joseph Tam (right) and Assistant Family Court Manager Ms Eleanor
Sammy Rique (second from right) provide insight into the operations of the Court to visitors in one of the
courtrooms. The overall purpose of the programme is to support public service leaders in developing their
capacity to contribute more effectively to regional integration, economic growth and gender-sensitive public
sector reform. Court Executive Administrator of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago, Ms Michelle Austin was
one of 24 Public Service executives from the Caribbean participating in the programme.

In the Magistrates’ Courts a total of 130,872 new matters
were filed while 86,986 matters were disposed. This
means that there was a marked increase in the work of the
Magistracy in the 2012/2013 Law Term when compared
with the previous year in which a total of 116,903 new
matters were filed and 81,953 disposed.

17

Reshaping the

Judiciary Identity