As the Caribbean nation of Barbados confronts a growing crisis of declining legal practitioners specializing in criminal law, the country’s top judicial officer has laid out a sweeping set of institutional reforms to reverse the trend and unclog a years-long backlog of criminal cases. In an address marking the opening of the 2026/2027 legal year at a special sitting of the No. 1 Court in the Supreme Court Complex, Chief Justice Leslie Haynes emphasized that piecemeal fixes would not solve the shortage, arguing that deep-rooted structural changes are required to make criminal law practice appealing to the next generation of legal professionals.
Haynes pointed to rising educational debt loads carried by newly graduated attorneys as one of the core deterrents pushing young legal professionals away from criminal practice, noting that many seek higher-paying or more stable work outside of the criminal bar. To address this barrier, he put forward two key policy proposals. First, he called for a significant increase in public funding for the Community Legal Services Department, widely known as Legal Aid. The additional resources would allow early-career attorneys to take on less severe criminal cases – including wounding and grievous bodily harm matters – building practical experience gradually before moving up to high-stakes cases such as murder, manslaughter and serious sexual offenses.
His second major proposal is the creation of a dedicated Public Defender’s Office, a state-run institution that would provide a structured, stable career track for legal professionals interested in criminal law who value the job security of public sector employment over the uncertainty of private practice. Beyond funding and institutional restructuring, Haynes also called on senior members of the legal profession to step up their mentorship of young attorneys, framing this support as a critical investment in the long-term future of the criminal justice system. He urged senior counsel to actively guide new entrants to the field, while encouraging young lawyers to consider building their careers in criminal practice.
Alongside his proposals to address the attorney shortage, Haynes delivered a comprehensive update on the state of Barbados’ court system, which is still recovering from significant disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He acknowledged that criminal court teams – including judges, prosecutors and defense counsel – have maintained essential operations despite longstanding challenges, including the absence of a dedicated criminal registry and consistent juror shortages. He revealed that the judiciary is now in the critical phase of establishing the long-awaited criminal registry, a change expected to cut down on excessive delays that leave criminal cases stagnating in the system for years. As an example of the scope of the backlog problem, Haynes noted that two cases over a decade old were recently brought to his attention. As of December 31, 2025, the total backlog of pending criminal cases stood at 1,382, with the largest categories including unlawful firearms possession, sexual offenses, burglary and murder.
Haynes also shared detailed data showing a steady recovery in case disposal rates after the pandemic-induced slump. When the COVID-19 outbreak was at its peak in 2020, High Court civil judges issued 113 written decisions, 88 of which were full High Court rulings and 25 related to applicant matters. In 2021 and 2022, as the pandemic continued to disrupt court operations and slow litigation across the country, disposal rates dropped to 76 and 69 written decisions respectively. From 2023 onward, the numbers began a gradual upward trend, hitting 76 decisions in 2023 and 71 in 2024, with High Court disposals accounting for 86 percent of all resolved matters in both years. By 2025, the number of written decisions issued reached 125 – surpassing the 2020 pre- and peak-pandemic levels for the first time in five years. As of August 2026, 82 written decisions have already been issued, putting the court on track to continue this positive trajectory. Haynes noted that the addition of new judicial officers has been a key factor driving the increase in resolved cases.
For the Court of Appeal’s criminal division, Haynes reported that approximately 200 active appeals were pending as of July 31, 2026. Only two of these appeals were initiated in 2022, with 42 filed in 2023, and the remainder opened between 2024 and the present. Of the 14 outstanding appeals that predate 2019, nine are civil and five are criminal. Progress has already been made on these legacy matters: two civil appeals have been discontinued, three are awaiting further case management to reach resolution, three have been scheduled for retrial, and one is no longer being prosecuted. On the criminal side, two appeals have been abandoned, one has been reheard with a decision pending, and one has been scheduled for retrial. For all appeals filed after 2019, Haynes confirmed that significant progress has been made, with a large number of pending decisions on track to be delivered before the 2026 Christmas holiday break.