Cayman’s Justices of the Peace are undergoing a mandatory training program to familiarize them with new regulations introduced in the wake of an unlawful search of a woman’s home and vehicle.
The regulations, expected to come into effect later this year, introduce a code of conduct governing how JPs handle various aspects of the job, including authorizing police search and arrest warrants.
Training sessions began on Jan. 8 and will continue through May 28, with all 200 of Cayman’s JPs required to attend two modules over that time period. Justices of the Peace, who are appointed by the Cayman Islands governor, are used as signatories to a number of official documents, including warrants, land registrations, marriage certificates and vehicle license transfers, among many others.
The proposed regulations deal with the provision of services, conduct and integrity, as well as confidentiality
“The upcoming regulations call for more updated and extended training program to assist and streamline JPs’ work, especially in view of constitutional changes,” Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said at the opening training session.
The new rules, which include a requirement for JPs to keep a written record of all warrants issued, follow a successful legal challenge brought by Sandra Catron over the July 2012 search of her home and vehicle.
In that incident the JP neither recorded what police said to him during the warrant application process or obtained an oath of truthfulness prior to the warrant application from the officers.
Justice Alexander Henderson, who heard the case, said failing to record the statements of police was not a good practice and that applying for a warrant before a “judicial figure” without swearing an oath was a blatant violation of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The new guidelines extend beyond the issues raised in the Catron case, governing everything from the procedure for nominating and appointing JPs to complaints procedures. The regulations make training mandatory, stating: “All existing JPs shall undertake training within a year of the regulations coming into force, failure to do so without a valid reason, may result in removal of the JP from the Roll of Justices. All JPs shall be required to attend update training every three years.”
The Progressives-led government said earlier this year that it had agreed to change the territory’s Summary Jurisdiction Law to allow for the creation of regulations, though this still has to be ratified through a vote in the Legislative Assembly.
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