Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Even virtual court hearings being impacted by COVID

Even virtual court hearings being impacted by COVID

Even with the decision to temporarily move court cases online because of the territory’s current COVID-19 outbreak, the virus has still managed to affect the Magistrate’s Court ability to host virtual hearings.

BVI News contacted the Magistrate Courts’ offices on Monday and a representative said most of the hearings for this week have been adjourned because of COVID-19 cases at the court.

The representative told our news centre that some staff members are isolated because of close contact with infected persons while others have been confirmed as being positive for COVID.

This means the court’s staff cannot access the court’s facilities to facilitate the administration of justice in the territory until they’ve completed the legally required quarantine time and then produce a negative COVID-19 test.

The magistrates and their staff typically host online hearings from the physical courthouse. BVI News was told that these virtual court sessions should be back next week.

Virtual hearings here to stay


Meanwhile, there is the growing belief among members of the legal fraternity that virtual hearings will be here for a while as the territory grapples to keep the infection rates under control.

At the recent opening of the 2022 Law Year of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), Chief Justice Dame Janice Pereira questioned how the justice system would look in the next five to 10 years.

“It is, I think fair to say, that as COVID-19 lingers on, and even beyond the pandemic, digitally-driven courts will be critical to the continued administration of justice,” Justice Pereira said.

She noted that courts around the world have arrived at the conclusion that digitally operated courts and services are here to stay as the administration of justice through digital platforms was a welcomed transformation as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the judicial system into survival mode.

Even Attorney General, Dawn Smith has noted that the legal fraternity in the Eastern Caribbean has, in recent years, pushed the boundaries of the practice of law and dispute resolution.

“Most recently, we have adapted to remote access for the conduct of case management conferences, hearings, and other interactions in the dispute resolution space as we have braved extreme natural disasters and a global pandemic”, she stated during her address for the opening of the new law year.

The Attorney General congratulated the Chief Justice on her steady and visionary leadership and congratulated the ECSC Bench and Bar for their resolve to follow her into the digital age and urged them not to downplay the significance of the steps taken thus far.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×