The Government of the Virgin Islands has agreed to allocate more than $1 million to fund the Criminal Courts Transformation Programme, which runs from 2021 to 2023.
This is according to the latest post meeting statement by Cabinet published on Thursday June 10 which confirmed that Cabinet agreed to allow funding in the sum of $1,097,800.
The programme includes a number of initiatives which seeks to: clear the existing backlog at the courts, address the human resources deficiencies and strengthen the criminal justice system in the BVI.
“[Cabinet] agreed to fund temporary accommodation for the second Court, which is estimated to cost $300,000 in rental fees for a period of two years, including costs for outfitting (prison cells, air conditioning, and IT systems) and furniture until the completion of Phase I of the Halls of Justice Building,” the statement read.
It added, “[Cabinet] decided to allocate the sum of $180,000 to strengthen the linkages between the criminal justice sector and to build capacity.”
In addition, Cabinet also approved additional funding of $617,800, which is to fill “critical legal and administrative positions within the legal departments.
The programme according to the statements was initially proposed by the National Security Council in February 2021 where a report entitled “Criminal Courts Transformation: Addressing the Backlog in the British Virgin Islands” was submitted.