AG asks High Court to strike out application of now defunct Police Service Commission

Oct 18, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC has asked the High Court to discontinue or strike out the case filed against the State by the now defunct Police Service Commission (PSC).
The PSC had moved to the court to challenge President Irfaan Ali’s suspension of its members after allegations of fraud and sexual assault surfaced against some of its members. Ali suspended the members of the Commission by way of letters dated June 15, 2021. By July 21, last, the PSC filed a court case challenging the President’s suspension, which it argued was done unlawfully.

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall SC

The case has been ongoing with the AG petitioning the Court to have the name of the President removed from the list of respondents in the matter. The Court recently granted Nandlall’s request. The AG is now seeking to have the PSC‘s application struck out on the grounds that the life of the PSC expired on the 8th August last. In a newly written submission before the Court, the Attorney General outlined his contention that since there is no Commission, there can be no lawful subsistence of any legal proceedings on its behalf.
The AG noted inter alia, since the entire Police Service Commission became vacant, it cannot lawfully continue to maintain the legal proceedings.
To buttress his argument, Nandlall explained that the Police Service Commission, like the other Service Commissions, can only act through and by virtue of their constituent members.
“This much is made excruciatingly plain when one examines the powers and procedures of Commissions as are outlined in Article 226 of the Constitution,” he adding that . In light of the foregoing, the continuance of these proceedings in the absence of authority would be so fundamental a flaw as to make the proceedings a nullity.
“…We respectfully submit that these proceedings cannot be maintained. The expiration of the life of the Commission naturally terminated the agency relationship, which previously existed between the Commission and [their lawyers]…. In the circumstances, we respectfully pray that this Honourable Court would grant an Order striking out Fixed Date Application…” Nandlall added.

Paul Slowe, Former Chairman of the PSC

Last July, Chairman of the now inoperable PSC, Paul Slowe, along with other members of the Commission, opted to challenge their suspension order in the High Court, by seeking to have it revoked.
The PSC had been suspended since June 16 by President Irfaan Ali. Ali’s move to suspend the PSC was made after two “show cause” notices were sent to Slowe and one other Commissioner, Clinton Conway, by Prime Minister, Mark Phillips.
The men, both Retired Assistant Commissioners of the Guyana Police Force were asked to ‘show cause’ to the PM as to why he should not follow the advice of the President to remove them from the PSC.
Phillips had done this after, Slowe, Conway and others were charged for defrauding the Guyana Police Force (GPF) of $10M. Slowe was also accused of sexually assaulting a female cop on three occasions.
Based on the court documents, which were seen by Kaieteur News, the PSC was, inter alia, seeking a declaration from the court that the purported suspension of Chairman Slowe and its members from performing their functions in their respective offices by Ali is contrary, or in violation to the Constitution of Guyana.
According to the document, the sections of the Constitution that the PSC was referring to are Articles 226(6) and 223(10).
Should the court find that it is indeed contrary to the law then Slowe and his colleagues wanted the suspension order revoked.
Apart from this, Slowe and Conway were also asking the court to declare that the Prime Minister’s recommendation to the President for them to be removed is unlawful.

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