The Attorney General, Hon. Magali Marin Young, will be introducing a Senior Courts Bill to replace the Supreme Court of Belize with a new High Court, and to amalgamate that High Court and the Court of Appeal to form new Senior Courts of Belize.  

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 5, 2022 

Today, Cabinet announced that it has given its recommendation to the Attorney General, Hon. Magali Marin Young, for her to introduce a bill that will restructure the upper court system in Belize in an effort to “improve the efficiency, accuracy and consistency” of the judicial system of Belize.

 The announcement was first made by AG Young at the opening of the Supreme Court earlier this year. She had stated, “Under a newly restructured Court of Appeal, a new High Court, there is to be a Chief Justice whose judicial function is to be recast to administratively supervise the performance of all High Court and Court of Appeal judges and allowing for him or her to sit on either court from time to time in the important matter of his or her choosing.” 

In today’s Cabinet release, GoB stated that the new Senior Courts Bill will be an amalgamation of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act and the Court of Appeals Act, and will result in the restructuring of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, which will be brought under under one umbrella as the Senior Courts of Belize. 

The office of the Chief Justice, currently held by Michelle Arana (Ag), will be transformed into a role that will include administratively heading both the Supreme Court, which will become known as the High Court,  and the Court of Appeal.

New offices such as that of Senior Judges, Masters, Judicial Assistance personnel, and the Chief Registrar will be introduced in the Criminal and Civil divisions of the Senior Courts, and specialized divisions such as the Constitutional and Public Law Division, Family and Trust Law Division, and Commercial Law Division will also be added. The Chief Justice will also have the freedom to create new divisions, if necessary. 

The bill to introduce the accompanying amendment to the Belize Constitution that will provide for these changes is expected to be introduced by the Attorney General in the near future. 

“Cabinet has also given its approval for the introduction of a bill to address consequential amendments to the Belize Constitution to provide for the additional judicial office holders as well as to provide for the office of the Chief Justice to be the administrative leader of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal as well as for the renaming of the Supreme Court to that of the High Court. The office of the President of the Court of Appeal is being retained, but shall be subject administratively to the office of the Chief Justice,” the release from Cabinet states.