Legal Affairs Minister paves way for Lay Magistrates’ Court

Jun 12, 2009 News

Legal Affairs Minister Charles Ramson

Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General Charles Ramson, yesterday tabled in the National Assembly, the Summary Jurisdiction (Lay Magistrates) Bill paving the way for the establishment of such a court and the appointment of Lay Magistrates.
According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the legislation, the law as regards the present magistrates, remains unchanged. Magistrates and lay magistrates will work side by side in the magisterial districts.

A lay magistrate, once appointed, will have jurisdiction throughout Guyana and must be fit and proper persons with certain experience. As lay magistrates, they would be protected when acting judicially.
Lay magistrates will be assisted by a clerk, preferably with legal qualifications, and may try any criminal offence triable summarily, if the punishment does not exceed $10,000.
The Magistrate may also try a civil case where the dispute does not exceed $25,000.
It will be the duty of a lay magistrate to promote reconciliation, and encourage and facilitate the settlement, in an amicable way, of proceedings of common assault and non-felonious offences.
Likewise, in civil cases, the magistrate should promote reconciliation and encourage and facilitate the settlement of disputes without recourse to litigation.
Under the proposed legislation, a lay magistrate may transfer a case to a magistrate in the same magisterial district where from the nature of the case, the evidence warrants this, and may also adjourn a case as the magistrate sees fit.
The lay magistrates, under the Bill when enacted, may be assigned to any magisterial district throughout Guyana by the Chancellor.

The persons appointed to be such a magistrate apart from being a fit and proper person, must have at least seven years experience in a senior position in either the public or public sector.
Under the proposed legislation any lay magistrate acting judicially shall not be liable to be sued in any civil court for any act done or ordered by the lay magistrate in the performance of his judicial functions, whether or not within the limits of his jurisdiction, if at the time he in good faith, believed himself to have jurisdiction to do or to order the act complained of.
Lay magistrates will not have the authority to impose custodial sentences on persons accused of offences.
Ramson also laid the Administration of Justice Bill, which seeks to increase the limitation of the jurisdiction of the Magistrates’ Court.
At present, a magistrate may hear a civil matter involving a sum of $50,000 and the proposed legislation increase the limit to $100,000.