COURTS have sat and services have been delivered every day during the pandemic.

“The Judiciary has never closed except for a few days at various locations in order to allow for sanitisation… Courts have sat and services have been delivered every day. Hence the concept of ‘opening up’ is moot,” the Judiciary said in response to questions from Newsday.

Public health restrictions were rolled back late last year which saw the public sector, among others, returning to work.

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, with rising cases, the Judiciary pivoted to a mainly virtual presence while leaving court buildings open for emergency use determined by pandemic rules set by the Chief Justice.

In response to Newsday’s questions, the Judiciary said it will also continue to deliver services electronically and virtually.

“The Judiciary had been preparing for ever-increasing virtual and electronic service delivery for some years as anyone following its development, the law and the rules of court and the speeches of the Chief Justice would have noticed.

“With the announcement of a worldwide pandemic, the timetabled projects were crashed and so it may appear to those not paying attention that virtual and electronic services came out of the blue and are meant to eventually disappear,” the Judiciary said on Wednesday.

In his address for the opening of the new law term in November 2021, CJ Ivor Archie admitted the pandemic forced the Judiciary to adapt to balance the dispensation of justice with the safety of all stakeholders.

He also said an element of virtual justice within the current system, will be the new norm.

The pivot to the virtual world also featured a change from a paper-based environment to a digital one with systems for the collection of the payment of fines and maintenance and introducing case management software.

“Virtual and electronic services are part of the Judiciary’s long ago initiated digital transformation plan and are also part of current the plans of many judiciaries worldwide,” the Judiciary said on Wednesday.

In November, Archie emphasised, “To be clear, the Judiciary is not really engaged in a process of digitisation which is converting data from analog to digital form.

“We are in a process of digitalisation which is leveraging digital enablement to transform our business model and see value-producing opportunities.”

On Wednesday, it said the reason for the continued use of virtual and electronic services was that “it improves service delivery.”

On the contentious issue of jury trials, which have been temporarily suspended because of pandemic restrictions, the Judiciary acknowledged such trials were “exceedingly conscious of the coercive nature of a jury summons.”

It went on to explain when someone is called to jury service, they must respond or they face a fine or imprisonment.

“That then places a very high duty of care on the Judiciary to keep jurors safe. As a matter of fact, it is included on the marshal’s oath.

“To empanel a jury of nine to 18 which are the actual