The Parliamentary Opposition is expressing alarm at the Government's proposed amendments to two Bills which would eliminate jury trials for most murder cases.
It said the amendments were brought to the House of Representatives on Tuesday without consultation with the legal profession, the Judiciary, the Opposition or the wider public.
In a statement Friday morning, Opposition Spokesman on Justice Mark Golding urged the Government not to proceed further with the proposal to eliminate jury trials in the majority of murder cases, without consultation.
Senator Golding said it appears that the reason behind the move is that it will help to reduce the backlog of cases in the Courts.
However, he argued that does not seem to be evidence-based reasoning.
He pointed out that the Gun Court, where for decades firearm offences with the exception of murder have been tried by judges without a jury, has an even worse backlog situation than the Circuit Courts, where trials are by jury.
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