Abstract
Puerto Rico is a small island that is part of an archipelago located somewhere out in the Caribbean Sea. It has an approximate population of about 3.5 million people and has a small area of about 9,104 square kilometers. The population is largely Hispanic where Spanish and English are the languages that have been set aside for official use.
Fridolin (2000) says that the most ideal court system in terms of ideals would definitely be that of Switzerland as it is considered the most transparent court system in the world. It boasts of absence of external interference and also the country is on the list of top ten countries devoid of corruption. This is a very important aspect when it comes to dispensation of justice as it assures the citizens of free and fair rulings by the courts. Since the country is a young democracy, it should take up the court structures of other young democracies. These structures are simple and very effective for first time republics. A good example of a young republic to borrow from would be Ghana as its court system is simplified and very effective.
The diversity and complexity of American justice system would also be a good source of reference to provide a working prototype of the ideal court system that will provide flexibility and functionality.
Introduction
The judicial system should consist of two major court strata where there will be the Superior Courts and the lower courts. There should also be provisions for military courts as well as specialist courts that will serve to preside over special matters or play an oversight role over some issues. All these courts will have clearly spelt out functions and there will be separation of powers and mandate to ensure that no court intrudes into another court’s field of jurisdiction. All these courts are supposed to be headed by a Chief Justice who will also be in charge of the judicial council and both the supreme court and the constitutional court. In this light, a judicial council should also be formed so at to act as the body that will take up the role of accurately interpreting the constitution. According to Friedrich (2004) it should also play the role of proposing government judicial reforms and this is supposed to improve the level of the administration of justice and rule of law in the country. The judicial council will also be the body that will check the conduct of judges and also undertake the hiring and firing of staff of the judicial service. Codes of conduct for both the judges and attorneys will be determined by this body. The determination as to how far a court’s jurisdiction spans and covers will also be determined by this body.
The Superior Courts
Superior courts are known as courts of general competence as they are deemed to possess jurisdiction which is not limited not matters of both civil and criminal legal cases; they have the powers to approach a matter on its own or in the hypothetical context. These are supposed to be highest ranking courts and they should include: the constitutional court, Supreme Court, the court of Appeal and the high court. Superior courts are superior relatively compared to lower courts as they have jurisdiction over matters where the lower courts have limits to how far their jurisdictions can go. These courts have jurisdictions to hear all cases except those that have exclusive jurisdictions given by the law. Since these are the highest ranking courts, they should be centrally located specifically in the capital city of the state which is San Juan. All proceedings that should take place in these courts should thus be conducted in the capital city.
The Supreme Court
This is supposed to be the highest court of the land and it should have appellate jurisdiction over all the other courts and also have original jurisdiction over a few other cases. It should also act as the final interpreting body of the nation’s constitution and it will also act within the boundaries of a case presented before it. This court should consist of the chief justice and six other judges who are supposed to be appointed by the country’s president, vetted by the judicial commission and the approved by the senate after they have been deemed fit for service. The judge’s tenure should be agreed on where the retirement age should be set so that judges can retire at 70 years. The court’s location should be at the capital city of the country as it is the central court and in charge of all other lower courts.
The Court Of Appeal
This court will be the second highest ranking court in the state after the Supreme Court. It will be charged with hearing appeals from the high court, specialist courts and the military courts. It will be further sub divided into two branches where there will be the civil division as well as the criminal division and each division should be headed by a judge. The criminal division will hear appeals from the high court under the criminal law and the military courts under the military law while the civil division will be tasked to hearing cases from the specialist courts which will all revolve around civil disputes.
The High Court
This is the court that will have the responsibility of hearing of the high profile and high priority cases in the state. It will also have the constitutional jurisdiction of administering over the lower courts and tribunals with very few exceptions that will be provided for in the constitution. The high court should further be sub-dived into three divisions:
The bench- this division will be charged will the responsibility of hearing cases that have to do with contract law and will also have the administrative responsibility of being a supervisory court over all other inferior courts. There should be one judge who will hear cases and determine whether they are fit to be brought before the court and if he/she gives a go ahead, then the matter is allowed to undergo hearing where there are one or more judges. Cases in this court may also be presided over by more than one judges; this will be determined by the complexity of the case and how wide its scope covers.
Chancery- this division will be supposed deal with issues to do with land, probate law, trusts law and also business law. Cases in this division should be handled by judges who are experienced in the finance market.
The family division- this division will deal with personal matters that will cut across family issues such as divorce, medical treatment, probation laws and children matters. It will be supposed to handle matters that will be meant to be of benefit to the parties or situations that will be regarded as a matter of life and death.
The Lower Courts
These will be the trial courts and they will be charged with hearing all the minor or petty offences and also civil cases will have restrictions to specific amounts. These courts will be structured such that there will be minor courts and also appellate courts all under this strata. The appellate courts will be supposed to serve in the same capacity with the minor courts only that they should have greater jurisdiction as compared to the minor ones. The appellate courts may also serve as trial courts but only for a few exceptions. These courts will consist of magistrate’s courts, small claims courts and chief’s and headmen’s courts.
Magistrate’s Courts
These courts will be supposed to deal with the smallest crimes and civil suits. And they will be supposed to be formed with regards to areas and the geography of the country where there should be magisterial districts. According to the government of South Africa journal, these districts when grouped will form a magisterial region which should comprise of a number of magisterial districts in the same locality. The district judges will be headed by a district magistrate while the regional ones will have a regional magistrate presiding over them. The district court will have jurisdiction over all offences expect those that touch on murder, rape and treason. The regional court will have jurisdiction over all matters except those that touch on treason. Fines these courts can impose will also vary and also the prison sentences will be relative to the court where it was issued. In this light a regional court will have the jurisdiction of imposing a life sentence.
Small Claims Court
These courts will be charged with hearing civil cases that involve two private litigants, evictions and tenant-landlord disputes unless there is a tenancy board that will have already been set up. Trial by a bench of judges will be very rare as it has never experienced in small claims courts. Also this court will not have the jurisdiction to issue injunctions or protection orders.
Chief’s And Headmen’s Courts
These courts will be formed with an aim to address customary issues and decisions will be based on customary law instead of the state’s constitution. These courts will be presided over by a headman or his deputy and in case one does not feel content about the decision made he/she will be free to present the case to the ordinary courts not as an appeal but as a new law suit. These courts will be required to be at the localities and they might not require any formal structure to house them as they will be community based. Judges will be appointed by the community as they will serve to appeal to the general interests of the whole community.
Military Courts
Also to be known as the court martial, these are the courts that will be charged with dispensing military justice basing on the military law. It will exclusively cover only the armed forces with and exception of civilians who have committed offences that are charged under the military law. In case of serious offences being charged, then a judge from the high court will be enlisted to be part of the jury. In other circumstances, only the jury will hear such cases. The jury will be mainly civilians who will have been picked from the experienced ranks of barristers and solicitors that had earlier served in the districts magistrates’ court in the previous state.
There will also be provisions in the event that a litigant will feel that the ruling made was unfair or it did not address his or her matter appropriately, there will be an avenue to file for an appeal. In this bench there will be a judge advocate who will be accompanied by two officers.
The court’s locations will mainly be around army barracks as the courts will be founded mainly to address issues in the military. But still they will be open to the public concerning civilian cases that will fall under the military law. Issues of misconduct where military officers commit an offence toward a civilian will also be handled here and a judgment will be passed based on the military law.
Specialist Courts
These courts will be largely charged with the responsibility of making decisions that touch on issues of the community. Jurisdiction will span on matters to do with marginalization of some cultures, disability which will cover both mental and physical disabilities and also it will make rulings on issues to do with abuse of drugs. There will also be specialist courts that will cover issues on elections where there will be the electoral court that will solve electoral disputes and deliberate on electoral processes, issues of employees and employers to be covered by the labor court and there will also be the competitions court. Under the specialist courts there should also be a provision for the formation of a labor appeals court.
Court Structure and Proceedings
The court system’s general structure is illustrated in the figure below:
Cases will progress from the lower courts all the way up to the highest court which is the constitutional court. This court will not have any jurisdiction to try cases, it will only provide interpretation of the constitution and act as a deliberative body that will spell out guidelines on how specific matters will be addressed or undertaken. It will only handle cases from the superior courts with only one exception which will be the electoral court.
Before formal hearings can start, a judge will first preside over the case in order to establish if the case has enough magnitude to elicit formal proceedings. If not, the litigants may be directed to a lower court or the case can be done away with and an out of court settlement may be suggested by court. If the judge considers the case worth bringing before the court, then the next hearing date is set.
Generally, the type of judicial system to be introduced will be largely an inheritance of the English Common law that is mainly adversarial in nature. According to the US legal system, litigants will file a case in court and then they will present their arguments before the judge (in most occurrences each litigant will be represented by an attorney). These claims may be further supported by evidence and witnesses’ testimonies and all these are supposed to be used by the judge in making a decision that will lead to a ruling being made. Rules on how proceedings are supposed to be conducted will be set by a committee of judges and lawyers who will be chosen by the chief justice. These rules will be tailored to support fairness by allowing each party enough time to present their case. These rules will also come with court etiquette and procedure.
The states’ national assembly will have the power to abolish all other courts except the Supreme Court and also the constitutional court. The lower courts will only interpret issues under the context of solving disputes between rival parties.
Conclusion
This court system will be best suited for the nation as it will have clearly defined structure. Furthermore, the functions of each court and organ will be clearly spelt out so friction will be minimal if not absent in the conducting of activities in these courts. The court system will be tasked with dispensing justice to all citizens in the country. It is also supposed to up hold the rule of law as it will be the guardian of the country’s constitution. As a young nation, this will be the most ideal justice system for the country as it is flexible and thus provides opportunities for adjustments in future where they will be deemed vital. If the state goes ahead and decides to follows this judicial system, then it will automatically be guaranteed of a successful, active and impartial judiciary.
References
Fridolin M.R. Walther ,Introduction to the Swiss Legal System: A Guide for Foreign Researchers, Published on November 15, 2000Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: A Guide to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra (2004)"A Brief Overview of the Supreme Court". United States Supreme Court. Retrieved December 31, 2009About government - Justice System - Courts. Government of South Africa. Retrieved 11 March 2012Introduction to the federal court system: US deparptment of justice. Retrieved 24 June 2013
