Parliament last Thursday debated extensively and passed into law the bill entitled: “The Courts (Amendment) Act, 2023”.
The bill seeks to amend The Courts Act of 1965, in order to increase the jurisdiction of The Magistrate Court in Civil matters and to provide for other related matters.
In presenting the agreement to Parliament the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohamed Lamin Tarawallie, said that the bill was necessary and timely in increasing and expanding the jurisdiction of the court system, so as to provide speedy trials in The Magistrate Court and also to ease the burden of citizens, “when it comes to accessing justice”.
In making his submission, Hon. Dr Mark Mahmoud Kalokoh referred to the bill as “sensitive but non-controversial”. He spoke about the challenges of the court, in relation to the delays in court matters and the huge piles of cases in front of The Magistrate Courts. He opined that, “the amendment before the House will help in addressing matters of the judiciary, especially petty issues”.
On his part the Chairman of the Legislative Committee in Parliament, Hon. Sulaiman Marry-Conteh, maintained that the needful had to be done in these current times of transformation, so as to make things better for “the revampment of the judiciary”. He supported the timeliness of the bill and urged colleague MPs to speedily enact the bill into law.
Independent MP from Pujehun District, Hon. Shaka Sama, explained that the judiciary needed more judges and pinpointed the positive move of the justice system and commended the AG for restructuring the judiciary. He also noted that many people who were in prison today had not been fairly treated and that they had been left to perish in jail.
Hon. Sheku Munirru Turay commended the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for the transformation of the judiciary and requested proper clarification on matters of procedures and other related juridical matters of the Court.
Rounding up the debate the Opposition Leader, Hon. Chernor RM Bah, joined his colleagues in the passage of the bill and commended the necessity and timeliness of it.
In concluding the debate the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Mathew Sahr Nyuma, commended the Justice Minister and colleague MPs for their meaningful contributions to the bill, adding that the bill would make a good law and underscored the transformation of the judiciary,
“We have made a lot of progress in enacting good laws for the State”, he concluded.