Justice delayed is justice denied: Is the CCJ torpedoing its dreams of becoming the court of last resort?

Jun 05, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

As we await the presentation/release of the CCJ’s decisions, I am optimistic, based on views from the side of the fence where I sit, that the Court will live up to expectations and deliver fair/impartial decisions in keeping with facts and the provisions of our constitution. My optimistic view stems from the CCJ’s satisfactory/pragmatic decisions delivered in several important/high powered cases over the last 14 years. That is, it would not uphold the unsupported 34 votes as indicative of majority, the President’s unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chairman, nor negate Charrandass’s vote. The CCJ’s delay in making its decisions public, however, raises concerns as to its true reason(s) or game plans. Could this be the Court’s silent support for the APNU+AFC government to proceed with its plans, which may even conflict with the awaited decisions?
It has been argued time and again that justice delayed is justice denied. The time taken for resolution of the issue is critical to the justice experience of those involved and can render the treatment wholly ‘unjust’ in circumstances where closure takes ‘too long’. That is, if the legal redress is not forthcoming in a timely manner, then it may not amount to any redress, as other circumstances may intervene and render the redress useless or of no effect. The current belief of many commentators and political activists is that the delay is calculated to allow the APNU + AFC to pursue activities that would thwart the PPP/C’s march to regain political control of Guyana any time soon. If the arguments hold true, then the critics of the CCJ, especially those who have expressed concerns about the APNU’s ‘incestuous’ connection with the CCJ, may indeed be correct.
In light thereof, I take the informed view that should the concerns raised about the objectivity of the CCJ hold true, the growth of the CCJ would be negatively impacted. In essence, should the delay allow the APNU to proceed with acts which would have been stalled/nullified by timely publication of the decisions, the CCJ would have made good strides in torpedoing its future.
In a nutshell, the current CCJ-delay seems pregnant with deception, perhaps to facilitate the APNU+AFC ongoing acts. I therefore, believe it would be fitting to end with the late Eric Williams’ mathematical formula, ‘one from 10 leaves zero’, which he used to rationalise the potential demise of the regional grouping had Trinidad & Tobago withdrawn. In the same vein, one from four would leave zero should Guyana pull out from the CCJ, as the remaining three small economies cannot sustain it. In essence, should the Court compromise its ability to function impartially, in the eyes of the region, it would have undermined its efforts to become the Final Court of the Region.

Yours sincerely,
Ronald Singh

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