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| Crown Counsel Miss Janine Harris (photo by Erasmus Williams) |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MARCH 31ST (CUOPM) St. Kitts and Nevis is being represented at a three-day Prosecutors Workshop in the British Virgin Islands.
Crown Counsels, Miss Janine Harris and Mr. Vincent Warner are among prosecutors and lawyers from the Caribbean and Canada attending the workshop at the Fort Burt Hotel.
British Virgin Islands Governor speaking at the opening session spoke of the importance of a sound judicial system in the Overseas Territories that depended heavily on tourism and finance to build their economies and that justice and peace were central to their continued development and success.
Governor Macan said consumer confidence is essential for the advancement of such Territories, adding that, without trust, tourists and businessmen may not be inclined to visit.
It is the law that sets the framework which seeks to guarantee confidence and we disrespect that framework at our peril, he said. The effective and successful prosecution of those who would break our laws is another key component of the legal structure on which we all depend.
Acting Chief Minister Hon. Ronnie W. Skelton said international regulatory and legal regimes on financial services and cross border crime create an increase in demand for Government resources.
British Virgin Islands Attorney General Honourable Cherno Jallow said the workshop would be beneficial to have the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court co-sponsor the event and to extend an invitation to other countries to participate.
He said hosting such a workshop is timely, as the British Virgin Islands is going through a revolutionary stage in prosecution by virtue of the appointment of a Director of Public Prosecutions last September by the Executive Council. Mr. Jallow said the step was taken to ensure independence of public prosecutions.
Facilitators for the workshop are also drawn from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, St. Lucia and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
