The Supreme Court has cleared its backlog of cases with some now going to trial a month or two after arraignments.

The improvement was announced on Friday in the House of Assembly by Junior Justice Minister Michael Scott during the Ministry of Justice Budget debate.

Mr. Scott said the criminal case backlog is "no more" compared to 2005, when it could take up to a year for a defendant to have their trial.

"The listing of cases had been further reduced to two months and on some occasions during the year within one month of the arraignment session. This optimum level is dependent on the number of indictments filed and with the increase in serious crime, will no doubt come under some pressure.

"We will however seek to maintain this level with the assistance of all who participate in this process."

In addition, Mr. Scott said the courts were dealing with multi-defendant trials including an upcoming trial with seven defendants. He said it would "put a strain on our space and infrastructure" as there was no courtroom suitable to house seven defendants.

Mr. Scott also spoke about technology that will be soon implemented in the court system. He said the Magistrates' Court system is scheduled to be online by the middle of the year through the Criminal Justice Information System, which has been partially installed in the Supreme Court.

"Until we are fully operational, we will continue to do whatever is required to ensure that the system is functional. Training will be imperative for all judicial officers, Police and other users and will take place prior to the full system roll out," the Minister said.

CourtSmart — a digital voice recording system — is used in both Supreme and Magistrates' Court and will be extended to the new Commercial Court in the Government Administration Building. It is also used in the Court of Appeal.