Politics should have no place in the appointment of top judges or constitutional commissions- Gaskin

Apr 28, 2022 News

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By Rehanna Ramsay
Politics should have no place in the appointment of top judges or constitutional commissions, this is the view economist and social commentator, Ramon Gaskin.
Gaskin who has been outspoken about issues affecting the development of the country added his voice to the recent calls for the appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice as well as the reconstituting of several constitutional commissions.

According to Gaskin, the political climate in Guyana makes it difficult for these functionaries to operate unhindered. He asserted: “We have a system that has for far too long hampered this appointment. The appointment of the chancellor and chief justice for instance is a prime example why the role of appointment and confirmation of these judges should be removed from the politicians and placed in the hands of a competent judicial committee like the Judicial Service Commission [JSC]…”
The commentator continued “…Because if you look at it, it‘s not just the judiciary that is affected, we had the same issue with other constitutional offices such as the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission and the Police Force where Police Service Commission appoints all the top officers but not the Commissioner, these are public service positions and the politicians should not be allowed to play with it.”
Gaskin took his remarks a step further, calling for all the boards to have real independence from the politicians. At present, a number of commissions are inoperable. These include the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commission, the Police Service Commission, the Public Procurement Commission, and the Office of the Ombudsman, the Ethnic Relations Commission, and Integrity Commission.
Guyana’s Constitution requires that the President and the Opposition Leader hold consultations for the appointment of the Police, Public Service, Teaching and Judicial Service Commissions that largely appoint and discipline persons under their purview. The Constitution also prescribes the need for consultations and agreement between the President and the Opposition Leader for the appointment of a Chancellor, Chief Justice. They are also constitutionally mandated to consult on the appointment of the Police Commissioner.
As such, Gaskin lamented: “why should we depend on the President or Opposition for these appointments when they continue to make the work of these important functionaries and boards impossible to do. They are more into their party interests than the country so they can’t sit down and decide on these crucial matters.”
“Just take a look at how many of these constitutional boards are out of operation because of the leadership of this country and that will tell you if we need politicians in the position to approve or appoint these boards. The constitution has to be amended to change it.”
Further expounding on the need for constitutional boards to be reactivated, the economist opined that President Irfaan Ali may be in breach of the constitution by failing to fulfill his duties and reconvene the boards. “I believe the President is breached because while he should be acting on making these appointments a reality, he is out in the fields doing party work which I believe is not priority,” he said.
Gaskin’ comments are being made even as calls were made to top-ranking members of the legal fraternity for the appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice. President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Judge Adrian Saunders and Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC were among those who agreed that Guyana‘s lack of permanent office holders for top positions for the past 17 years has had a negative impact to the functions of the judiciary.
Nandlall agreed specifically that the constitutional formula used for the appointment of the office holders. Last Wednesday night, President Ali announced that he would be inviting Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton to constitutionally required consultations on the appointment of a number of service commissions.
President Ali has told the media that a letter of invitation would be dispatched to Leader of the Opposition. “My intention is to meet with the Leader of the Opposition within two weeks…Well, you know there are a number of constitutional matters that have to be addressed so those are the matters that will primarily be on the table,” he said.
This is despite the position by Mr. Norton’s coalition of A Partnership for National Unity Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) that it does not recognise the legitimacy of the government due to claims of widespread electoral fraud by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC). After several months of insisting that APNU+AFC must first recognise the PPPC as having been legitimately elected in free and fair elections before there are any talks, Norton last week had said that he would participate in consultations that are prescribed by the Constitution. As such, President Ali eventually had said constitutionally mandated consultations would be held.

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