In its infinite wisdom

Jun 23, 2019 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Two Ministers of the government have made some very strange comments in relation to the Caribbean Court of Justice. While what they said is open to interpretation, just exactly what they meant, if left unclarified, may be interpreted, whether rightly or wrongly, as suggesting that the CCJ cannot decide when elections are held or that Guyana is not bound to comply with the ruling of the CCJ.
The CCJ is not likely to indicate when elections should be held. That is not how courts operate. Any orders granted by the CJJ will most likely only demand respect for the Constitution and the holding of elections in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution.
The Constitution itself stipulates that, following the successful passage of a no-confidence motion, elections should be held either within three months or such longer period as the National Assembly, by a prescribed majority, allows.
The CCJ did not immediately make any consequential orders. And the reason it did not is not only because it wants to hear arguments on the orders, but because it recognises that the period for holding elections can be extended by the National Assembly. As such, reports indicate, the CCJ suggested that the various parties meet to find consensus.
Quite bizarrely, the President decided that he would meet with the Leader of the Opposition after the orders and not before. As such, the CCJ is left with little indication as to whether the parties would agree to extend the life of the government.
The President should meet with the Leader of the Opposition before and not after consequential orders. This would show good faith and also the resolve to find a way out of the constitutional crisis which now exists. Make no mistake about it, the government is illegal unless parliament extends, through a constitutional amendment, its life in office. And since this requires the support of the opposition, the President was shooting himself and his government in the foot by not seeking to reach a consensus with the Leader of the Opposition before the submissions on consequential orders commence tomorrow.
Instead, the government has taken to the streets to protest against itself. It is protesting for house-to house registration.
During those protests, comments were made in relation to the CCJ. It was said in one instance that only GECOM can determine when elections are held. That is not so. It is the President who has to so decide, but his decision will have to be informed by GECOM’s readiness. But GECOM does not decide on the date of elections.
The Court, however, can order by which date elections should be held. And the Court in so doing can point to the provisions of the Constitution, which dictate three months or such longer period as approved by the National Assembly.

It is not clear what that Minister meant when she also said that Guyana is independent, with independent laws. The Minister should clarify whether she was implying that the government is not bound by any order of the CCJ. There was comment by another Minister that the government is sovereign. Again, it is not clear what this implies in relation to the CCJ.
The Caribbean Court of Justice may be resident in Trinidad and Tobago, but it is not, in terms of jurisdiction, external to Guyana. The CCJ is the highest court of Guyana, not our Court of Appeal.
The CCJ is also part of Guyana’s laws. By virtue of the Caribbean Court of Justice Act, which was passed in the National Assembly on November 4, 2004 and given Presidential assent in the same month, the CCJ became incorporated into Guyana’s laws. And the said Act gives to the CCJ jurisdiction as Guyana’s final court of appeal, and jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Court of Appeal in criminal and civil proceedings and in relation to the interpretation of the Constitution.
The government is bound by the decisions of the CCJ. The laws of Guyana say that any judgment or order, which the CCJ makes shall be enforced in like manner as any judgment of the Supreme Court.
Tomorrow, the CCJ will begin hearing submissions on the consequential orders. It is not likely to grant any orders tomorrow. It would have been to the government’s advantage if it was seen to have commenced political talks with the opposition, prior to the commencement of submissions on the consequential orders. But the government no doubt, in the exercise of Guyana’s independence and sovereignty, and in its infinite wisdom, wants the meeting after the consequential orders.

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