HOA decides on residency certificates for jury pool expansion
The government has decided persons who meet the new 10-year residency requirement for inclusion in jury panels must first have a residency certificate.
This was determined as legislators met to deliberate and pass the Jury Act recently.
The amended Jury Act was one of several legislative reforms committed to by the Government of National Unity, as part of its framework agreement between the United Kingdom and the BVI.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley revealed a recent press conference that while there were not many changes and amendments to the Jury Act, one specific change was to the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report’s recommendation that persons be added to the jury pool once they met a 10-year residence threshold. This was a measure proposed in the report to extend the jury pool which officials complained was restricted and fraught with challenges because of the small community and restrictions contained in the old legislation.
“As it pertains to the 10-year residency, we removed the provision that opened the jury to anyone who has just been here for 10 years, but won’t necessarily have a certificate of residence,” Dr Wheatley said. “We felt as though you needed something to really tie them, some sense that they were settled in the BVI, that they were committed to remaining in the BVI.”
According to the Premier, persons who possess certificates of residence essentially demonstrate that they are a part of the community and can be considered a peer of anybody on trial and can take on their civic obligation and become a part of the jury pool.
Premier Wheatley said the previous Jury Act was from 1914 and was in bad need of modernisation. He noted that it came across very clearly to the government that the size of the jury pool caused a challenge, especially when jurors were being sought for specific trials.
“You’d have persons who would be related to the people who are being charged, related to a policeman or related to an attorney etcetera, and that created great difficulties in getting a jury panel and we hope that we would have helped to assist that challenge with the amendments,” the Premier stated.
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For this to make sense you’ll have to make the residency certificate process more efficient and transparent….
Looking like island man soon on jury
“The government has decided persons who meet the new 10-year residency requirement for inclusion in jury panels must first have a residency certificate.”
There is something diabolical wrong with this standard in a democratic society
The unsettled commit crimes in the BVI. Come on people.
i dont believe them any way theres a lot of people over 20 and were married for years and still they dont have their rights what they are in tittle to belongers why>? this is descrimination for those who are not getting belongers or residents still wicked! mind
10 years and all we get is jury duty. Are all you people crazy?
Give away the Territory more why don’t you?! Ensure that they meet the requirements first and not issue certificates for a lil sumting undah the table.
Another corrupt trick to cling on to power and reduce the jury pool so it’s easier to manipulate. They will just sit on the issue of certificates.
for criminals in the BVI only. If BVI criminals want a jury trial then transfer them to Castries, St. Lucia the HQ of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.