High Court, Court of Appeal Hearings to Pause for Civil Case Management Training

Regular hearings at the High Court and Court of Appeal will pause on November 4 and 5 as judges, court officers and attorneys take part in training on managing civil cases. Chief Justice Louise Esther Blenman has declared both dates as “dies non,” or days when ordinary court business will not be conducted. Urgent applications will still be heard, and the General Registry will remain open as usual. The two-day workshop is being hosted by the Chief Justice and the Judicial Education Institute of the Senior Courts of Belize. It will focus on case management under the Senior Courts’ Civil Procedure Rules of 2025. Participants will include judges, registrars, judicial assistants and representatives from the Bar Association, Attorney General’s Chambers and Legal Aid and Service Centre. Sessions will be held in the Main Courtroom on Treasury Lane in Belize City.  The workshop follows several training initiatives involving the bench, court staff and practising attorneys. In April, the institute organized training on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, bringing together judicial officers, lawyers and administrative personnel. A practical follow-up session in July gave judges, magistrates, registrars, judicial assistants and attorneys further exposure to the technology and its use in court work. Earlier this month, the institute also launched its Criminal Law Practitioners Programme. That initiative provides training for attorneys, prosecutors, police prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals. Areas covered include evidence, advocacy, case preparation, ethics and criminal procedure. The programme is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the European Union-funded PACE Justice project.