New JSC board should be given active consideration – retired judge

Nov 21, 2018 News

It‘s been over a year since the life of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – the body responsible for making appointments removing and exercising disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in judicial offices – has expired.
The JSC is the only body which is mandated by the constitution to make recommendations to fill vacancies within the Judiciary.
As such, social and political commentators have lamented that the absence of the board is creating a constitutional vacuum.
Retired Judge Oslen Small is among those who highlighted the implications of not having the JSC board in place.
“That is something that should receive active consideration, “Justice Small told Kaieteur News during a recent interview.
“I really don’t know what the holdup is, but the JSC should be given priority, given its role in the constitution.”
Justice Small noted however that the JSC is made up of ex-officio members and had included the acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, the Chief Justice, Chairman of the Guyana Public Service Union, (GPSU), a member appointed by Parliament, and one by the President.
“These persons must be selected before the JSC is in place. I should hope that the Government is working on ensuring those persons are in place so that the new JSC board can be selected.”
The life of the membership of the last JSC expired since 30th September 2017.
Opposition parliamentarian and former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall has been among those calling for public condemnation of the government’s stance on the issue.
Nandlall has been criticizing the government over the failure to appoint a new JSC Board.
Outlining the authority of the government under the current structure, the former Attorney General noted that the executive branch of Government enjoys a significant advantage over the two legislative and judicial arms of governance, because it controls the financial machinery of the State, and therefore the other two organs depend upon it for their funding.
“In recognition of being in this peculiarly advantageous position, it is incumbent upon the Executive branch of Government, in Guyana’s constitutional structure, to ensure that it does not abuse this advantage, and that at all times, it magnanimously ensures that these constitutional institutions are adequately resourced and appointments to offices within them are timely made,” Nandlall said
On the contrary, the former Attorney General believes that the current Administration has been exploiting that advantage.
He noted that several articles have been written detailing with the Attorney General’s public refusal to recognise the JSC’s constitutional power to appoint certain officers within the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority and his refusal to allow those officers to discharge their functional responsibilities.
“I also wrote several articles highlighting the President’s failure to act, for nearly a year, upon recommendations made by the then JSC to elevate certain puisne Judges to the Court of Appeal, and to elevate and to appoint persons as High Court Judges and Commissioners of Title.
“The shocking response of the Government to my criticisms was that the Constitution does not stipulate any time period for the President to act upon these recommendations. “
However, Nandlall says, “those who truly understand the language and spirit of the Constitution and the law, would tell you that the President is expected to act in those circumstances with every convenient speed”.

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