Most people know that matters related to maintenance, custody and domestic violence are routinely handled by Resident Magistrates. Whether it's in the Family Court or in the Resident Magistrate's court for the particular parish.

However, most persons would hesitate to commence matters involving family property in the Resident Magistrate's court.

There continues to be very good reason for this hesitation because of the current state of the law. I raise this here because it is, perhaps, an issue which our legislators need to address if these courts are to be better able to serve litigants.

Peculiar provisions

The Resident Magistrate's court is bounded by very rigid and peculiar provisions which narrow the range of matters that can be brought regarding property. For example, in actions for recovery of possession, the Resident Magistrate does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter if the annual rental charged in respect of the property exceeds $250,000. The obsolescence of this provision is obvious since there are so many properties which are rented for monthly amounts in excess of $25,000.

Under the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act, the Resident Magistrate's court has jurisdiction to consider actions by spouses for the determination of their interest in property. However, the relevant section of that act clearly states that "the value of the property in dispute must be within the monetary limits prescribed by the Judicature (Resident Magistrates Act)". Therefore, the provisions which prevent a Resident Magistrate from hearing actions in respect of monetary claims exceeding $250,000 would apply.

If the claim pursuant to the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act is not denominated in monetary terms, the extent to which actions may be brought is still limited. Therefore, if a spouse should claim that he or she is entitled to 50 per cent interest in property owned by the other spouse, he or she must first satisfy the court that the annual value of the property does not exceed $75,000.

Review pending

For many years I have heard that plans are afoot to comprehensively review the operations of the Resident Magistrate's court in an effort to amend the rules and the act which govern the proceedings in those courts. However, while some piecemeal changes have occurred over the years, it would appear that the full-scale review is still pending.

In the face of devaluation in the Jamaican currency and adjustments in property values, the prescribed limits of the Resident Magistrate's jurisdiction force litigants from all parts of the island to resort to the supreme court for consideration.

The strain on the resources absorbed by these litigation, time and effort wasted in travel could be resolved if Resident Magistrates could hear property claims of greater value. Moreover, the supreme court might also benefit from the reductions in its case load.

Sherry-Ann McGregor is a partner and mediator with the firm Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon & Co. Send feedback and questions to lawsofeve@yahoo.com or Lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.