New High Court rules require tweaking

Dec 25, 2018 News

While the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) or High Court rules have been yielding positive changes in the area of judicial case management, there are some aspects of the mechanism which require tweaking.
In an invited comment, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall spoke of some of the issues members of the local bar are having with implementation of the rules.
Nandlall noted that while the implementation of the new CPR should be applauded, there is some omission, and ambiguity, as it relates to the mechanism.
“The omission and ambiguity of new court rules is to be expected, fortunately most of the issues have been identified and a bar/bench committee has been established to iron out the issues and make the necessary recommendations for amendments. This should conclude soon.”
The new Civil Procedure Rules, (CPR) of 2016 were brought into force to replace Guyana’s existing rules, which date back to 1955. The changes have brought the new rules in line with similar rules in the Caribbean.
The 187-page document contains procedures for settling civil matters and making payments both in and out of court.
Under the new guidelines, a number of mechanisms were adapted towards providing speedy hearings, and an end to what would have been lengthy civil trials.
The Fixed Date Application (FDA) is one method being used to fast track and dispose of matters shortly after the date filed.
According to the rules, an FDA requires that from the time a matter is filed, a date is fixed for hearing. In accordance with the rules, the court is guided by a timeline to layout a schedule to have matters heard within days after it was sought.
Additionally, according to the information outlined in CPR 2016, when a proceeding is to be commenced by way of an FDA, the applicant (person applying to the court) must, attach an affidavit of all of the evidence upon which he/she relies; and attach a draft of the order that the Applicant seeks to have the Court make.
The rules require that where the FDA is urgent and made without notice, it need not be served and the Registry must schedule it to be heard on the day after it is issued”
“Where the FDA is made without notice, it need not be served and the Registry must schedule it to be heard within 4 days of being issued. In the cases of urgent FDAs made on notice, the Registry must schedule it to be heard within 7 days of being issued and the application must be served at least 4 days before the date scheduled for the hearing.”
In any other case, the Registry must schedule it to be heard within 28 days of being issued and the application must be served at least 7 days before the date scheduled for the hearing, unless these Rules, a Practice Direction or the Court, otherwise permit.
At the hearing of the FDA, in addition to any other powers that the Court may have, the Court may award costs.

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