A ruling has yet to be delivered in the legal case launched by former premier Ewart Brown against the Deputy Governor, Attorney-General and Director of Public Prosecutions, a year after it was heard in court.

Dr Brown brought the constitutional claim for discrimination in the Supreme Court in relation to a criminal investigation.

The civil matter was heard last year by Acting Puisne Judge Martin Forde, a British silk brought in specifically for the case — but a judgment has yet to be delivered more than 12 months after the last court hearing.

Dr Brown’s lawyer, Jerome Lynch KC, told The Royal Gazette: “The last hearing date was actually in November 2023.

“I have tried to find out what is happening, but everyone is being really tight-lipped about it.”

Larry Mussenden, the Chief Justice, told The RoyalGazette that Acting Justice Forde has reserved judgment after hearing “substantive submissions”.

He said Acting Justice Forde has since “suffered a fall with injuries that sidelined him from his usual duties for six months”.

He added: “Upon his return to his duties, he has sought to catch up with his professional duties in the courts of England and Wales, where he has had several back-to-back trials as well as progressing his judgment/ruling on the case in Bermuda.”

Mr Justice Mussenden said that he expected to issue his ruling “in December or early January 2025”.

Other Supreme Court civil judgments, also presided over by acting judges and expected to have been delivered by now, are still outstanding, with litigants having waited for months in some cases.

A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Gazette that Supreme Court judgments were generally expected to be delivered within six weeks.

However, they said there had been issues with billing involving some acting judges, who are contractors rather than permanent, salaried government employees.

The source said acting judges filed invoices for work carried out, but disagreements have arisen with Alexandra Wheatley, the Supreme Court Registrar and accounting officer for the judiciary, about the amounts being claimed.

“There is no question that acting judges, like in the Brown case, have not been paid,” the source alleged.

The source accused the administrative arm of the courts of penny-pinching and setting unrealistic parameters for the completion of work, leading to stalled judgments.

They said it was inevitable that litigants waiting months for rulings would eventually file claims of abuse of process because of the delays, further congesting an already under-pressure court system.

Another well-placed source, who also asked not to be identified, said they had heard that acting justices had not been paid and that was the reason several rulings had not yet been delivered.

Another example was the case of Ismaila Darrell, who was found guilty of sexual exploitation in 2021 and has appealed his conviction.

Acting judge Mark Pettingill presided over a hearing in the matter in April this year, but has yet to hand down his judgment.

Mr Pettingill, who runs private law firm Chancery Legal, is one of a number of lawyers to have stepped in to fill gaps in the judiciary in recent years.

Mr Justice Mussenden has previously acknowledged in the Bermuda Judiciary annual report 2023 that rulings were not always delivered swiftly.

He wrote: “Cases have continued to be filed, listed and progressed as best as possible with judgments following in good time, although the pressures on the judges have not always allowed for that.”

Mrs Justice Wheatley did not respond to questions from the Gazette, and nor did Rena Lalgie, the Governor, who has oversight of the judiciary.

The judiciary was allocated $9.5 million under the 2024-25 budget for the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, since renamed the Ministry of Justice, including $1 million for the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s civil division produced 69 judgments in 2023, compared with 86 the previous year.

Asked about delayed judgments, a government spokeswoman said: “This is not a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

“The courts of Bermuda operate independently under our constitution.

“The Ministry of Justice does not oversee or comment on judicial proceedings. As such, there will be no further comment from the ministry relating to the matters queried.”

Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “Unfortunately, my department has no information on the issue.”

It was not possible to reach Mr Forde KC or Dr Brown for comment.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers

UPDATE: this article has been amended to include comment from Larry Mussenden, the Chief Justice