Latest update January 1st, 2025 1:00 AM
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Time to appoint Chancellor, Chief Justice – CCJ President
Kaieteur News – President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Adrian Saunders has decried the lack of substantive appointments for the post of Chancellor and Chief Justice (CJ) of the Judiciary in Guyana, stating empathically that it is time to appoint permanent holders of the office.
President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Adrian Saunders
The call for immediate appointment of the Chancellor and CJ follows days after President of the Bar Association of Guyana, Pauline Chase and Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, SC, spoke of the impact, which the non-appointments have had on the state of governance.
Both Chase and Nandlall called for the formula used to appoint the officers to be reviewed and changed. For the past 17 years, the two top judicial posts were only held by persons acting in those capacities.
Chase called that the absence of substantive office holders as an “embarrassing state of affairs” that needed to be corrected swiftly while the AG noted that the legal formula, which requires the agreement between the President and Opposition Leader for the nominees to be appointed, has resulted in deadlock.
“This has long been my position, to amend it; reason being is that ever since this formula was put into the constitution, a President has never been able to secure the agreement of the Opposition Leader on the matter.
Chancellor (ag), Yonette Cummings-Edward
As a result, since 2005, we have not had the substantive appointment of neither a Chancellor nor Chief Justice which is a real sad state of affairs,” Nandlall said last week during an airing of his Facebook commentary.
During his address at the Bar Association of Guyana’s dinner held at the Kingston, Georgetown, Marriott Hotel on Saturday, Justice Saunders noted that while Guyana’s legal and judicial landscape has seen some transformations in its favour over the past decade, the absence of permanent appointees to fill the top position remains the “one significant blot,” on an otherwise impressive justice system.
“For the country to have not appointed a Chancellor for 17 long years is very disappointing; likewise, to be without an appointed Chief Justice for several years,” Justice Saunders said.
Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire
As the President of Guyana’s final Court of Appeal, Justice Saunders added that, “I believe I have a right and a duty publicly to express the view that Guyana should not let this year pass and not remedy this regrettable situation.”
In the meantime, Justice Saunders noted that over the years, the CCJ has observed as Guyana’s justice system became dynamic, responsive and innovative in just a few short years.
“It is currently ably led, for a few years now, by two forward looking and progressive judges in the persons of the Acting Chancellor and the Acting Chief Justice. The length of time the cases that reach us have been in the system has grown considerably shorter. So far as I can tell, the judgments are being delivered in a far more timely fashion,” he said.
Further lauding the efforts of the acting Chancellor, Yonette Cumming-Edwards, and Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire, the CCJ President noted that the Guyana judiciary has for the first time, implemented a sexual offences court.
Saunders declared, “You have a sexual offences court… Many cases are disposed of via mediation as they should be…You also have or will soon have juvenile and drug treatment courts; not long ago new civil procedure rules were introduced under Acting Chancellor Carl Singh; and you have embraced the marriage of modern information and communication technology to case management.”
He continued, “It is a fact that over the last 10 or so years, we have been witnessing a series of steady reforms in the administration of justice of this country. The trajectory is certainly trending in an excellent direction. These reforms have benefited from increased allocations of funds from the State.”
The CCJ President noted, nonetheless, the judiciary did not accomplish the objectives alone.
“The judicial reform initiatives,” he stressed “have received substantial assistance from various donors and other agencies including UNICEF, the British High Commission, the NCSC of the United States, the Canadian funded JURIST project and of course the CCJ.”
“And I can promise you, Madame Chancellor that as long as you and your team maintain that progressive and proactive approach to judicial reform, donor funds and ready assistance will continue to come your way,” Saunders said.
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