The rules took effect in 1999 during the Panday UNC administration in an attempt to enforce strict time frames for documents to be filed in the High Court. Ramlogan explained that non-compliance adversely affects the offending litigant.
The AG made the comments in an address at the Civil Law Stakeholders Conference, which is being held to sensitise all about the strict requirement of the CPR and of the Court's "unrelenting stance with regards to its non-compliance."
He cited one example of a case involving Universal Projects, which ending up costing the state about $30 million because of the breakdown in communication between the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Office of the Attorney General.
He said deadlines were not met by the State in the filing of court documents to support its defence.
"When the State applied for an extension of time to file its defence, the court was unsympathetic, being very critical of the delay, and for this reason ruled against the State. The State found itself being penalised for its non- compliance resulting in costs and damages in the vicinity of $30 million being ordered to be paid," Ramlogan said.
Ramlogan said there is a need for a partnership between ministries and the State's civil law chamber "to identify and implement best practices." He added that his office remains committed to "re-engineering itself", adding that he is determined to deal with staff shortages at all levels.
"Vacancies will be filled and staff promoted to give incentive to personnel where low morale threatens to derail productivity and a higher, hungrier work ethic," Ramlogan said.
He also spoke of plans to merge the offices of the Solicitor General and Chief State Solicitor. The combined departments "will be realigned into units such as the Litigation Unit, Commercial Law Unit, the Advisory and Debt Recovery Unit, et cetera to fulfil our obligations and functions," he said. "This will result in a leaner more efficient machine."
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