A small claims court would save Magistrates' Court time and money.

That was the view of Magistrates' Court's administrative officer Tracey Kelly in response to a recommendation that a separate court be set up for debt collection.

The Consumer Protection Task Force -- set up in October, 1996 and chaired by Sir John Plowman -- suggested in its recently-released report that a separate small claims court with streamlined procedures should be considered.

Based on the complaints it received about the court's debt collection system, the committee noted that "it appears that the system is long overdue for reform''.

And Mr. Kelly agreed.

"We have more than 6,000 new (small claim court) cases every year,'' he said.

"But we're also dealing with others that are dragging on.

"Considering we have three courtrooms, we spend 20 to 25 percent of our time with small claims.'' While small claims courts in other jurisdictions deal with amounts up to $2,500, small claims in Bermuda constitute amounts up to $10,000, he added.

But most of the small claims in Magistrates' Court were for sums around $2,500 or less.

A separate small claims court would bring much needed relief to Magistrates' Court, Mr. Kelly said.

He explained that under the current system a plaintiff must first fill out a form, then an ordinary summons is completed. A tentative court date is issued and the forms are sent to the bailiff for serving.

The serving of the summons may take more than one attempt, he added.

If both parties appeared before the magistrate and the defendant admitted to the debt, judgment was given. If he or she disputes the debt, a trial date was set.

But if the defendant does not appear at court or does not pay the judgment debt, a judgment summons is issued. And again the serving of such a summons may take more than one attempt.

Small claims court backed judgment debt, a warrant for his or her arrest is issued.

The defendant then has to be brought before the court and may be committed to prison for non-payment or contempt of court. But, the committee noted, that it was usually at this stage that debtors "normally find the money'' to pay the debt.

"Experienced debtors know they need not pay until this stage,'' they wrote.

And this, Mr. Kelly added, made the process time consuming and expensive.

The debts dealt with by the court total some $4.5 million a year. And the five bailiffs each serve an average of 160 summonses per month.

However, Mr. Kelly said very few debtors disputed the claims against them.

"Most of the cases we have here is where people owe money which they know they owe and should have paid,'' Mr. Kelly pointed out. "Very few dispute it.

"We've been thinking about mailing out claims and if there is an objection, then it will go to court.'' This would fall in line with the Consumer Protection committee's recommendations for streamlining the procedure. They called for the following: Ordinary summons to be sent by post, rather than by a bailiff, in the first instance and only if returned by the post office, should it be served by a bailiff; The judgment summons be abolished as an unnecessary step; and Additional administrative staff be hired to handle the paperwork.

With this in mind, the committee said there was a clear need for a small claims court.

And while admitting that such a court will require a separate venue, Mr. Kelly said it would only need a small office with an administrative staff of two people and a mediator or a panel of lay people -- similar to a special panel.

"The person can come in on Monday and have the case heard on Tuesday,'' he said. "This will allow a much faster process.''