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And in terms of meeting the recommendations, Belize is ahead of the curve. And today saw the start of its criminal justice reform conference. Courtney Menzies was there and has this story.

The establishment of Needham's Point Declaration signaled the turning point for the Caribbean's criminal justice system. It is a framework for reform, underscoring the need for swift and fair justice for both the accused and the victims.

The declaration contains 39 recommendations and Belize has been aggressively working to meet them. Today, the Senior Court, through the Judicial Education Institute, hosted its first even conference on Criminal Justice Reform.

At the opening ceremony, the Chief Justice pointed out one of the glaring issues in Belize's justice system: the massive backlog of cases.

Louise Blenman, Chief Justice
"It is common knowledge that the criminal justice system in Belize was plagued by many difficulties at different stages which led to serious backlogs. In the Magistrates Court, there were major delays in the dispensation of justice, in some cases preliminary inquiries took as long as 2 years to be completed, police prepared case files left much to be desired , judges at all levels in the system were said to be granting adjournments too readily, also cases were not properly case managed and trials took unnecessarily long to be completed, both in the Magistrates Court and the High Court. In some cases in the High Court, trials took as long as six months, sometimes even one year to be completed."

But Belize is on the trajectory to significantly reduce those backlogs and the waiting time for cases:

Derick Sylvester, Chair, Judicial Education Institute
"Happy to say that thus far we have reduced the case backlog from 14 years in the criminal court to five years and we're on a trajectory to adopt the Needham Declaration point #19 which states that criminal matters should be completed in the high court within one year and at the lower court, at the magistrate court within six months so it is that trajectory that Belize is on."

Reporter:
"How many of those though were done away with through trials and not because they were nolle pros or because they were throw out?"

Derick Sylvester, Chair, Judicial Education Institute
"There were numerous persons who have pleaded guilty because there was the recent passing of the plea discussion legislations that had resulted in defense and prosecution coming together and discussing matter in a holistic way to dispose of these matters so that has resulted in the backlog, not necessary nolle prose but trials in some way but mostly by plea discussions."

Justice Winston Anderson, Ag. President, Caribbean Court of Justice
"We had this morning information that in seven months, one judge in Belize has completed 30 criminal cases. Another judge has completed 29 and another 27. This has been aided by the work done by the legislature, by the parliament, particularly the attorney general in establishing legislation and plea bargaining so that if we have clear evidence that somebody committed a crime, they are presented with this evidence and they are given an indication of the maximum sentence that is likely to be imposed then they're much more likely to plead guilty, if they are guilty of course, and then this helps with the overall progression of the cases."

"I think it is absolutely spectacular, I think it's a very wonderful thing, I think that Belize represents the tip of the spear in terms of reform. For example I think that the establishment of the criminal justice board is so very crucial."

And now the Belize is leading the charge in the Caribbean, which will not only encourage other countries, but is expected to inspire confidence in the judicial system right here at home.

Kishan Khoday, UNDP Resident Representative in Belize
"Justice delayed in justice denied as they say and so it's been a quite positive trend over the last year or two but there's a lot more to be done across different types of cases and across the system as a whole. So I think the region is looking quite positively at what's happening in Belize, I think seeing so many countries from across the region being here along with international organizations is a testament and recognition of some of the efforts being done in Belize."

Derrick Sylvestre, Chair, Judicial Education Institute
"What the public can expect is growing confidence in the criminal justice system. They will recognize and appreciate that remand prisoners no longer have to remain there for years and also the case in the system will be completed much quicker, so they will have much more confidence when they come to court."

The conference runs for five days.