The Chief Registrar’s Office has made a request for more Magistrates in order to fast-track pending cases before the courts.
Chief Registrar, Yohan Liyanage says currently there are 32 magistrates, however, there is still a need for more.
“We’ve requested for an increase because we need to increase magistrates in certain areas like in Ba. We need two or three magistrates but currently, we only have one Magistrate sitting there. Even in Nadi, previously we had only two magistrates and now we have three magistrates but still, it’s not enough for the workload we have in Nadi.”
Liyanage says they have advertised the position of Magistrates both locally and internationally.
He adds while many lawyers qualify to be Magistrates, they opt for alternative jobs.
The Chief Registrar says between 2013 and 2016, there was an increase of 9 Magistrates in the judicial department.
