New laws passed by Parliament being ignored in magistrates courts – Nandlall

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall on Tuesday raised serious concerns about the failure of magistrates’ courts to apply modern legislation passed by Parliament, warning that key legal reforms are being ignored at the summary court level.

Speaking at the opening of the Law Year 2026 during a special sitting of the Full Bench of the High Court, Nandlall said that while the Executive and Legislature have enacted significant legal reforms aimed at improving efficiency and access to justice, those laws are not being utilised in practice.

“We are churning out at the level of the Executive and the Parliament a tremendous amount of new, modern and innovative legislation,” Nandlall said. “But I say this with the greatest of respect, I don’t think that we are reading them.”

The Attorney General specifically referenced the Plea Bargaining Act, which he said is not being applied despite its mandatory provisions.

“The first section of the plea bargaining legislation mandates a magistrate to put plea bargaining as an option to the defendant,” he said. “Mandates. The legislation is being ignored.”

Plea bargaining was introduced to reduce delays in the criminal justice system, encourage early resolution of cases, and ease the burden on overcrowded courts. Nandlall stressed that the failure to implement such laws undermines the objectives for which they were passed.

In addition to plea bargaining, the Attorney General said other major reforms are also being overlooked in magistrates’ courts.

“We have the plea bargaining legislation, we have the paper committal legislation, we have restorative justice legislation, and I don’t think that they are being used in the Magistrate’s Court,” Nandlall said.

Paper committals were designed to streamline preliminary inquiry proceedings by allowing matters to proceed to the High Court without lengthy oral hearings, while restorative justice legislation promotes alternative dispute resolution and rehabilitation, particularly in suitable cases.

Nandlall emphasised that the problem does not lie in the absence of legislation, but in the failure to engage with and apply the laws that already exist.

“I don’t think that we are reading them,” he reiterated.

He also pointed to the critical role of law reporting in ensuring consistency and transparency in judicial decisions, noting that lawyers and judges must have ready access to past judgments.

“Law reporting is important for the legal profession, it’s important for the doctrine of precedent, it’s important for the judges to have easy access to their decisions,” Nandlall said. “And I know that judges like their decisions to be reported, and I know that lawyers like to see their names in the law reports.”

He said the Justice Institute and other institutions must do more to familiarise lawyers with the legislation and reinforce its practical application in courts.

“We have to do more work in that regard,” Nandlall said.

The Attorney General further connected the failure to implement modern laws with broader issues in the legal profession, including self-regulation and accountability.

“You are self-regulatory, and don’t take that professional autonomy for granted,” he said.

“To remain self-regulatory, you have to become responsible, and you have to become accountable.”

Nandlall’s remarks came amid ongoing concerns about backlogs and inefficiencies in the lower courts, where the majority of criminal matters originate. Magistrates’ courts play a critical role in determining whether cases advance to the High Court and in administering justice at the community level.

The Attorney General said that while considerable progress has been made in clearing backlogs in the High Court, much work remains in ensuring that legislation passed by Parliament is actively used to guide judicial decisions and improve the administration of justice.

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