Circuit Court sittings resume in some parishes, more to come on stream

Circuit Court sittings resumed on Monday in three parishes after a break caused by the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Among the three parishes are St James and Trelawny, two of the areas devastated by the Category 5 hurricane.

St Catherine is the third parish.

Court Administration Division (CAD), which made the announcement on Monday, said circuit court sittings for Westmoreland will resume next Monday.

Circuit Court and Parish Court sittings for St Elizabeth will resume on November 24.

The St Elizabeth Parish Court was completely destroyed by the hurricane.

Melissa made landfall in New Hope, Westmoreland on October 28, causing wide-scale destruction across the western end of Jamaica, including St Elizabeth, St James, Hanover, and Trelawny.

CAD said due to the extensive damage in Westmoreland the circuit court for the parish will be held in neighbouring Hanover.

The St James Circuit Court will only sit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The Trelawny Circuit Court will be held in Duncans, while the St Catherine Circuit Court will be held at the Supreme Court in Kingston.

“The Court Administration Division continues to assess infrastructural damage across all courts and will be engaging the Ministry of Justice to have issues addressed in the shortest possible time,” CAD said in a statement.

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