On Wednesday, August 27th, 2025, the Ministry of Justice hosted the inaugural meeting of the newly established, Cabinet-approved “Working Group tasked with formulating recommendations on the Conduct of Virtual Hearings in the Court System of Trinidad and Tobago.” The session was held at the AGLA Tower, Government Plaza, Port of Spain.
This meeting follows a stakeholder consultation held on June 25th, 2025, which identified ongoing challenges, particularly those faced by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) in facilitating virtual hearings at police stations.
The Working Group is chaired by Minister of Justice and Minister in the Office of the Attorney General Devesh Maharaj. The group includes representatives from a broad cross-section of the justice sector. Present at the meeting were the Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge; representatives from the Office of the Attorney General; the Ministry of Homeland Security; the Ministry of Defence; the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service; the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service; the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority; the Public Defenders’ Department; and the Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Science Centre.
Legal sector bodies were also represented including the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Assembly of Southern Lawyers, and the Criminal Bar Association, as well as international stakeholders such as the United Nations Development Programme.
The Working Group raised several key concerns related to virtual hearings, including limited access to justice, strain on police and prison services, security risks, difficulty faced by attorneys in accessing virtual links, procedural unfairness to the accused, and the exclusion of vulnerable groups.
The Group has pledged its commitment to delivering comprehensive recommendations to address these issues in the justice system.