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JUSTICES of the Peace (JPs) are now being tasked with carrying out deeper judicial functions without proper training, oversight or modern systems in place, veteran JP Abrahim Ali says.

The PRO for the Justices of the Peace Association (JOPATT) spoke with Newsday on November 15, a day after the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (AJIPA) was passed in the Senate, and which once assented to by the President, will become law and legally give wider powers to JPs.

Ali complained that long-overlooked weaknesses in the JP system, particularly the lack of standardised training, record-keeping and consultation, despite successive governments relying on JPs for key functions in the criminal justice process. Ali said he found the core problem was structural.