tried by the one judge District Court 4°
The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was sharply
reduced. The Supreme Court will no longer exercise appellate jurisdic-
tion over thé judgments of the.one.judge district i Similarly,
only those judgments of the three judge District Court may be appealed
directly to the Supreme Court in which "clear and serious" errors of law

are claimed; whereas, previously "clear and serious" errors of law made

by the one judge district court could be appealed directly to the

42
Supreme Court.

By virtue of those amendments, the appellate burdens of both the
High Court and the Supreme Court have been materially reduced. None
of the cases tried jnitially by the one judge District Court, the forum
for the vast majority of criminal cases, can now be appealed to the
Supreme Court. Direct appeals from the one judge District Court to the
High Court will now lie only in cases where a "clear and serious" error
of law has been committed by the one judge District Court. Previously,
all judgments and appealable interlocutory rulings could be appealed
directly to the High Court.

Cases pending before the Supreme Court at the time the amendments

TT

0
4 Law 679, Art 25. The High Courts are also administrative tribunals

exercising initial trial jurisdiction in all cases involving
questions of administrative law. The vast majority of these cases
involve civil suits against the government where improper exercise
of administrative powers is claimed.

1
= Law 679, Art 17.

42
Ibid.

HO ay 51, Art 25.