by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service
A bill for an act to provide for the recording and transcribing of court proceedings and related matters was brought before parliament on Monday, 29th March, 2010 when parliamentarians met for the first session of the eighth parliament at the House of Assembly.
The objective of the bill is to make recording of court proceedings mandatory and the use of audio or video recording permissible in the courts.
The bill was introduced to the house by the Honourable Minister of Legal Affairs, Ian Douglas.
 Honourable Minister of
Legal Affairs, Ian Douglas
“Basically, that is what this facility allows the court to do. It is to have an accurate recording, be it an audio recording or a visual recording of actually what took place, what was said by a witness, what transpired. It is a very short bill and that is just what it does, nothing more, nothing less.”
The bill will also seek to provide for the transcription of court proceedings and provides for the Presiding Judicial Officer, Chief Registrar, Registrar or Chief Magistrate to cause all court proceedings to be recorded.
A person who is not a court reporter or transcriptionist shall not transcribe a record of court proceedings. |
