Turks- und caicosinseln
Marking the successful conclusion of a sweeping six-year reform agenda that has fundamentally modernized the Turks and Caicos Islands’ judicial system, Chief Justice Mabel Maam Agyemang addressed a special sitting of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 6, 2025.
Speaking at the opening of the Supreme Court Assizes in Providenciales and her final legal year speech, the Chief Justice provided a final account of her tenure at the helm of the Turks and Caicos Islands judiciary, which has centered on a drive for digitization, efficiency, and enhanced access to justice.
In a courtroom filled with lawyers, senior government officials, and members of the local media, Chief Justice Agyemang confirmed her imminent departure from the Turks and Caicos Islands.
She said: "This will be my last Opening of the New Legal Year speech, as I demit office at the end of March 2026. This speech will thus necessarily be in the nature of a final accounting, and my farewell to these Beautiful by Nature, Turks and Caicos Islands, I have called home these last six years. I give a brief account of the work of the Judiciary in 2025, and provide a summary of what the Judiciary may look forward to achieving in this new year 2026."
At the center of the reform spearheaded by the Chief Justice has been the "E‑Judiciary project," which has pushed the courts towards a paperless future since its introduction in 2023. The Chief Justice highlighted the tangible benefits of the digital shift:
"Our drive to drastically reduce the use of paper in our courts commenced in 2023 with the introduction of digitized court processes. We have since successfully introduced E‑Filing using the Curia E‑Folio Platform."
She explained that this has replaced paper filings and has also cut down on the time and cost of service delivery, in turn minimizing delays inherent in traditional paper-based systems.
