More funding for legal aid and a possible Public Defender’s Office are among reforms Chief Justice Leslie Haynes has proposed to tackle a shrinking pool of attorneys practising criminal law in Barbados.
Saying the shortage could not be addressed simply by encouraging more attorneys to enter the criminal bar, Haynes argued that institutional changes were needed to make criminal practice more attractive to younger lawyers.
One option, he suggested, was increased funding for the Community Legal Services Department, better known as Legal Aid, to allow younger and less experienced attorneys to work on less serious criminal cases and gain the experience needed to eventually handle more serious cases.
Young lawyers could begin with such cases as wounding and grievous bodily harm before progressing to more serious cases, including murder, manslaughter and serious sexual offences, the Chief Justice suggested.
Haynes also proposed the establishment of a Public Defender’s Office, which he said could provide a career path for people interested in criminal law but who preferred the stability of State employment.
“The issue cannot be, is not as simple as increasing numbers. Change must come at the institutional and structural levels.”
The Chief Justice pointed to the increasing burden of student debt among young attorneys as one factor influencing their choice of legal practice. He also urged senior counsel to play a greater role in mentoring younger lawyers, saying this was important to the future of the profession.
“Senior counsel should be willing to mentor and guide younger attorneys for the state of the profession,” he said, while encouraging younger attorneys to enter and develop their careers in criminal law.
Acknowledging the significant work being done in the criminal division of the High Court by judges, prosecutors and defence counsel, despite the absence of a criminal registry and a shortage of jurors, he said the judiciary was now in the critical process of establishing the registry, which should help prevent criminal matters from remaining in the system for prolonged periods.
Haynes noted that two files which had been in the system for more than ten years had recently been brought to his attention.
He revealed that as of December 31, 2025, the criminal case backlog stood at 1 382, with unlawful possession of firearms, sexual offences, burglaries and murder among the main categories.
In his speech to the special sitting of the No. 1 Court in the Supreme Court Complex to open the 2026/2027 legal year, the Chief Justice outlined several other statistics regarding the disposal of cases in recent years following the impact of COVID on court operations.
He said: “The statistics show that in terms of numbers of decisions disposed of, we are quietly returning to and exceeding pre-pandemic levels. A contributing factor to the increase in disposals is the appointment of more judicial officers.
“As a result, in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, judges disposed of 113 written decisions in the civil division, of which 88 were High Court decisions and 25 applicant matters. In 2021 and 2022, as expected, the number of decisions disposed of dropped to 76 and 69, respectively, and which, in my opinion, reflected the slow pace of litigation consequent upon the society reeling from the effects of COVID.
“In 2023 and 2024, the number of matters disposed of started to trend upwards, slightly upwards, with 76 and 71 decisions respectively being disposed of. Notably, in these years, High Court disposals accounted for 86 per cent of disposals in both instances. I am pleased, therefore, to say that in 2025, the number of matters disposed of stood at 125, and when I say disposed of, I am speaking with respect to written decisions. There are other matters that are disposed of on a daily basis for which no written decision is required.”
The 2025 numbers surpassed the 2020 disposal rate for the first time in five years, and, as of August, 82 written decisions had been issued, he added.
In the criminal division of the Court of Appeal, there were approximately 200 appeals in the system as of July 31. Of these, two were commenced in 2022, and 42 in 2023. The balance consists of appeals filed between 2024 and now, he reported.
On outstanding decisions before the appellate court, Haynes said there were 14 pre-2019 matters in the system: nine civil appeals and five criminal appeals.
“The results are as follows: two have been discontinued, three have been adjourned for further case management in the hope of achieving resolution, three have been set for retrial, and one is currently not being prosecuted. Of the five criminal matters, two have been abandoned, one appeal has been reheard, and a decision [has been] reserved, and the other has been set for a retrial.
“Of the post-2019 matters, significant progress has been made in that a number of decisions have been reserved and are actively being discussed with a view to the delivery of same before the Christmas break.”
(JB)
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