Antigua Parliament Approves Permanent Judge-Alone Trials

ANTIGUA – In Antigua, judge-alone trials are set to become a permanent fixture in the legal system, following new legislation passed in the Upper Chamber.

On Monday, Senators amended the Criminal Proceedings Act of 2021, aiming to solidify judge-alone trials.

Originally introduced to address the backlog of cases during the Covid-19 pandemic, the trials were initially temporary. However, they were extended twice.

However, some opposition members raised concerns about a defendants’ right to choose their trial format.

Minority Leader Shawn Nicholas said, “fair trials should give defendants the option to choose a jury trial.”

Despite these concerns, the amendment passed and will become law once it is officially gazetted.