On Tuesday 6, March 2018, the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago held a launch ceremony to mark the opening of the North location of its new Children Court at 6 Elizabeth Street, St. Clair. The Court was established through the Trinidad and Tobago Juvenile Court Project (JCP), a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Judiciary with technical support provided by the U.S.-based National Center for State Courts. Launched in 2014, the JCP sought to establish the supporting mechanisms needed to adopt a rehabilitative approach to treating with children in conflict with the law. The Children Court is a subdivision of the new Family and Children Division of the High Court created to deal with all family and children court matters.
The first of its kind within the CARICOM region, this rehabilitative Children Court deals with all children matters including children (under 18) who are charged with offences, children in need of supervision and child care and protection matters. The Court which began operations within the past week heard its first matter on February 28, 2018. While the Court is committed to ensuring fair, humane and efficient justice for all, its primary dual focus is to encourage positive behaviour change and accountability on the part of young offenders and children who appear in court because of consistent negative behaviour.
The opening event for the Children Court drew speeches from the Honourable Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Ivor Archie; the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Faris Al-Rawi; U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires, Mr. John McIntyre; UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao, Suriname and Sint Maarten, Mr. Richard Blewitt;and Court Executive Administrator of the Judiciary, Master Christie-Anne Morris-Alleyne. The programme also saw appearances by Court-annexed Peer Resolution Youth Volunteers and other youth representatives.
The feature address was delivered by the Honourable Chief Justice. In describing the Children Court, the Chief Justice remarked that he preferred to think of it as “a restoration centre where we address the criminogenic factors that bring our children in conflict with the law and put them on a pathway to becoming healthy and productive members of society.”
The Children Court boasts several features which strengthen its capacity to fulfil its mandate. These include a cadre of qualified in-housed staff capable of delivering in-house rehabilitative programmes and social support services to children in need, a Peer Resolution programme to which children who commit minor offences may be referred, a level one Court Case Management System which supports case scheduling, task assignment and data collection for more efficient case management and voice transcription software allowing for greater efficiency in the creation of electronic court records.
To project a more welcoming, youth-friendly environment, courtroom and youth spaces within the Children Court are cheerfully designed making liberal use of brightly coloured finishes and furniture in lime green, marigold yellow, and queenly purple to name a few.
The USAID contributed over U.S. five million dollars to the set-up of the new Children Court system. Their contribution not supported the outfitting of specialised Children Court facilities but also the development of the Court’s Human Resources Structure and Staffing, the training of over 300 child justice workers and youth and adult Peer Resolution volunteers, the development of rehabilitative (auxiliary) programmes, the development of case management software, the conduct of over sixty sensititsation, engagement and working sessions throughout the justice sector and the delivery of education and communications initiatives.
Mr. McIntyre remarked that “the Juvenile Court Project is one example of how the U.S. Government, through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), partners with regional governments to reduce youth crime and violence levels in the region by improving social justice and promoting prevention-focused solutions.”
Representing the UNDP, Mr. Blewitt stated that “the new Children Court has been established in line with international standards and has taken on board the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Classification of Crime Statistics of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, as well as other international rules concerning the treatment of children in conflict with the law. In essence, it has set a regional standard for child justice and UNDP is committed to continued support to the Children Court system where possible. It is my hope that other development partners will also offer support to help the Court grow and increase in its impact.”
The formal launch of the Children Court South is set to take place on Wednesday 7, March 2018 at its location on the corner of Delhi Road and Fyzabad Main Road, Fyzabad. Plans have also been underway for some time for the opening of a new Children Court facility in Tobago.
The realisation of the new Children Court effectively brings to an end a four-year project which has revolutionised the child justice sector in Trinidad and Tobago with changes such as a new Family and Children Division Act, new justice sector tools including Children Court Rules guiding operations within the Children Court, Judges’ Rules for Children which guide the police on the handling of child suspects, Multi-agency and Inter-agency Protocols addressing roles and responsibilities of justice sector agencies in treating with children and the Trinidad and Tobago Table of Equivalencies of the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) which facilitates the generation of more accurate crime statistics on offences committed by children and adults.
For more information on the Children Court, persons may write to FCD@ttlawcourts.org. The public may also access background information on the Court via the JCP website at www.jcp.tt.