Chief Justice Bryan Sykes says by adopting approaches used by countries such as Guyana and Kenya, Jamaica could solve many of the issues plaguing the island’s courts.

He gave the suggestion during a press briefing in St. Ann yesterday while commenting on concerns about maintenance of the island’s courts.

Earlier this month, clerks at the Kingston and St. Andrew parish court staged a sickout, in protest of unacceptable working conditions including malfunctioning bathrooms, poor air quality, and pest infestations.

Justice Sykes believes these and other issues can be solved if Jamaica took an approach similar to that of Guyana and Kenya -where the judiciary prepares a budget and the allocation comes directly from parliament, not through a ministry.

He said the Court Administration Division (CAD) would give an account of how these monies are spent to ensure accountability.

Justice Sykes said while the CAD will play its role to ensure that the island’s courts are maintained, properly, the judiciary’s budget is not very extensive, therefore collaboration from the Ministry of Justice is necessary.