Govt. to abolish Preliminary Inquiries to ease backlog of cases – Attorney General

Jan 29, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana will be moving towards the abolition of preliminary inquiries (PI) as part of the criminal justice process with the aim of reducing the waiting time for persons to be tried, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall disclosed on Friday.

Nandlall, speaking during the final day of budget 2023 debates said that government is cognizant of the complaints about the backlog of cases and the prolonged delay in the time accused spend awaiting trial.

“Part of the reason is because currently the law requires a PI to be done to establish a prima facie case before going to a judge and jury,” he told the House while explaining that across the Caribbean and in the Commonwealth jurisdictions have abolished this first tier of the criminal trial process.

Guyana will soon be moving in this direction to reduce the significant backlog of cases.

Meanwhile, Nandlall disclosed that focus will be placed also on the establishment of Guyana’s law school, reviewing the criminal plea deal law, and setting up the Constitutional Reform Commission this year.

He reminded that last September, Guyana received permission from the Council of Legal Education for the establishment of a law school. He said that the country would have signed an agreement with the institution and the government will now establish a team that will be working with the judiciary, the Bar Association and the University of Guyana to facilitate the process.

Additionally, Nandlall said that Constitutional Reform is high on the government’s agenda and a Commission will be established this year in keeping with the passage of the Constitutional Reform Act in 2022.

The Attorney General disclosed that 35 additional Special Prosecutors will be placed in the system to assist Police Prosecutors working in the Magistrates’ Courts. The Special Prosecutors are the holders of Bachelor of Law Degrees (LLB) and were trained and inducted to work alongside the Police Prosecutors in Regions Four, Five, Six, and Ten.

By next month, another batch of 35 LLB holders will begin training after which they will be dispersed to the remaining regions, the Minister reported.

The government will also review the Plea Bargaining Agreement Act which it said was introduced years ago to provide an opportunity for prosecutors and accused person (s) to meet under specific circumstances and negotiate a settlement acceptable to the principles of justice.

This method seeks to ensure that an accused does not receive excessive sentences or experience undue delays at the court. However, Nandlall said this mechanism has not worked and a review of the law will be done to ascertain what changes are required to make it effective.

Meanwhile, Nandlall said with that the passage of the Restorative Justice Act last year, government will be moving to establish a Restorative Justice Centre and accompanying Secretariat with focus on custodial sentences for non-violent crimes and reconciliation between victim and perpetrator where possible.

The government will see the Guyana Prison Service being retrofitted with a mental health unit at Lusignan, training for personnel and computer labs installed at the New Amsterdam, Lusignan, Timehri and Mazaruni prisons.

New accommodations for Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) officers at Suddie will be completed as well as two ‘Hope and Justice’ centres will be established at Lusignan and Vergenoegen to provide legal, medical and probationary services to the victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse among others. The facility will provide accommodation to victims in a bid to remove them from their negative environment.

The Deeds and Commercial Registry department will be expanded while a three-storey building will be constructed on the Essequibo Coast to provide services there.

Further, Nandlall said that the North West Magistrates’ Court in Port Kaituma will be completed, as well as the court in Mabaruma; projects which began in 2022.

The Vigilance Magistrates’ Court and living quarters on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) will be expanded while the Bartica, Mahdia and Coven John Magistrates’ Courts will be completed.

The Attorney General disclosed that living quarters and Magistrates’ Courts in Lethem Diamond/ Grove, West Demerara, among many others, will be improved.

Meanwhile, more than two dozen Bills are expected to be tabled in the National Assembly. Among those Bills are the Summary Jurisdiction Offences Amendment Bill, Companies’ Amendment Bill, Landlord and Tenant Amendment Bill, Evidence Amendment Bill, Summary Jurisdiction Procedure Amendment Bill, the Court of Appeal Amendment Bill, The Limitation Amendment Bill and Criminal Law Procedure Amendment Bill.

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• abolish, Attorney General, backlog, Government of Guyana, Preliminary Inquiries

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