Cornwall Bar Association backs move to modernise Parish Courts Act

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — The Cornwall Bar Association (CBA) has thrown its support behind a Private Member’s Motion moved by Senator Charles Sinclair in the Senate on Friday, October 23, 2026, aimed at initiating a comprehensive review and modernisation of the Judicature (Parish Courts) Act.

If adopted, the motion would, among other things, allow for an increase in the monetary jurisdiction of the Parish Court’s Civil Division.

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“He is a member of the Cornwall Bar Association and attorney-at-law with firsthand knowledge of the hardships faced by litigants when they seek Justice. The current one million mark is insufficient, and you are not by law allowed to split your claim so as to fall within the jurisdiction of the Parish Court,” stated President of the Cornwall Bar Association, Dionne NS Meyler.