Problems in the judiciary since independence

Sep 01, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

Ever since Guyana gained independence in 1966 there has been dissatisfaction in the appointment of judges especially the head of the judiciary and other senior judges and it seems that after 55 years the wrangling goes on. It is even worse now since the Constitution was amended for the leader of the opposition to agree to the appointment of these two top judges. Prior to the amendment the Head of Government merely had to consult with the leader of the Opposition, and because the failure to get the greenlight, the acting Chancellor, Carl Singh, and acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang, were not confirmed and they have retired without being confirmed. Chang has since died. Now Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Roxanne George-Wiltshire are acting in the two top positions. These two females were nominated by the PNC/APNU/AFC administration more than three years ago. The question now is, would the PPP/C administration accept these two nominees who have been doing a very good job in these positions, and request the Leader of the Opposition to agree to them; or they have other persons earmarked?
I read with much concern that Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, said that he would not consult with President, Irfaan Ali, because he does not recognise him as President, such a bizarre statement from a man who is supposed to be a lawyer. The CCJ, the highest court in the Region, ruled that the election was fairly conducted and CARICOM leaders who oversaw the election and investigated allegations by APNU+AFC, confirmed that there was no flaw in the polling or the count…this is yet another time wasting move to delay the confirmation.
Guyana is the only country in the Commonwealth that has been without a confirmed Head of Judiciary for such a long time…16 years. Guyana is known for manipulating the system to have persons of their choice in the judiciary. When Guyana gained independence in 1966 Sir Joseph Luckhoo was Chief Justice, and he should have been appointed Chancellor, but Forbes Burnham, the first Prime Minister did not favour Luckhoo and he brought Sir Kenneth Stoby who was in Barbados to be Chancellor – which was/is senior to the Chief Justice and Sir Joseph quite rightly quit and went to Jamaica and took up the position as President of the Appellate Court.
There have been a few judicial and senior legal appointments, which raised eyebrows including the appointment of Keith Massiah, S.C., as Attorney General, hours after he resigned as Chancellor of the Judiciary…moving from the judicial branch to the executive branch. This was criticised, but several years later Charles Ramson, S.C., moved from acting Attorney General an Appellate Court Judge, and shortly after returned as confirmed Attorney General. This was not keeping with the doctrine of separation of powers. A Guyanese jurist based in London, who it was said was not experienced enough, was named as an Appellate Court judge; he was asked to resign after he was disbarred, but on appeal his disbarment was removed. Guya Persaud resigned as Appellate Court Judge and took up an appointment as Head of the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. He never returned to Guyana and decades later he died and Justice Horace Mitchell left Guyana after he was not appointed as the first President, the top post promised to him by Forbes Burnham. Mitchell never returned to his homeland and like Guya Persaud died overseas. Chief Magistrate, William Alexander, left Guyana for Trinidad because he was bypassed for judgeship. He served in two jurisdictions, but I do not think he was appointed a High Court or Appellate Court Judge.
During the past five and a half decades there have been several missteps in the appointment of judges, attorneys general and other senior legal personnel. In conclusion I wish to state unless the President and the Opposition agree on the appointment of the two top judicial officers, steps should be taken to amend the Constitution and revert to “consultation” rather than “agreement” but this cannot be done without agreement of both sides in the National Assembly…a mere majority is definitely not enough…either two thirds or some feel only by a referendum.

Yours faithfully
Oscar Ramjeet

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