Minister of Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein has met with the Cabinet-approved Inter-Ministerial Committee to Review the Systems, Processes and Governing Framework for Appointment as a Commissioner of Affidavit, Justice of the Peace and Marriage Officer.

He met with the committee in its first plenary meeting on Wednesday, a release from the ministry stated.

The committee comprises key representatives and stakeholders from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Office of the Registrar General, the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Homeland Security, the Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence, the Ministry of Culture and Community Development, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, and the Justices of the Peace Association of Trinidad and Tobago.

It has a three-month timeframe to produce recommendations to Cabinet.

The ministry stated, “Several areas of reform were flagged including legislation, monitoring and oversight, making the services more accessible and to a wider audience, providing public registers of licensed practitioners, reducing the timelines involved, and digitising the services from end-to-end.

 “Commissioners of Affidavit, Justices of the Peace and Marriage Officers provide valuable services to the population and are highly regarded in their communities. It is critical that the governance of the practitioners be modernised and strengthened to ensure public trust and confidence.”

The Ministry of Legal Affairs also said it continues to demonstrate alacrity to tackle prolonged ineffectiveness towards delivering high quality services to  deserving citizens.