Latest update September 28th, 2026 10:20 AM
Roxane George sworn in to act as Chancellor
…Navindra Singh to act as chief justice
Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Roxanna George (left)
Kaieteur News – Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire was on Monday sworn-in to act as the Chancellor of the Judiciary as the current holder of the office, Justice Yonette Cummings- Edwards proceeds on annualised leave.
Justice of Appeal Navindra Singh was also sworn-in to perform the duties of the Chief Justice, left vacant with George’s elevation. According to a statement the two justices took the Oath of Office before President Irfaan Ali at the Office of the President.
In brief remarks, President Ali stated that the appointments were made in the interest of maintaining continuity and ensuring the efficient functioning of the Judiciary in the Offices of Chancellor and Chief Justice. The President also said the temporary filling of the Chancellor’s post in the absence of Justice Cummings-Edwards, “reflects the administration’s commitment to justice, fairness and the rule of law, which are essential to the country’s democratic framework.”
Despite this move the top two spots in Guyana’s judiciary have substantively remained vacant, due to the requirement in the constitution that both the Leader of the Opposition and the President must agree on the persons before they can be appointed. Although there have been numerous calls by a number of political parties and organisations to substantively appoint the acting persons to the posts, the spots have remained substantively vacant for over 20 years, with attempts to break the ‘deadlock’ going to no avail.
In May of this year President Ali said that he is still examining the issue of appointing the substantive holders to the Office of Chancellor and Chief Justice (CJ). This publication reported on May 22 that while acknowledging the importance of top judicial posts to Guyana’s legal framework, in a brief comment to the members of the press, President Ali said his government is more focused on filling the vacancies that exist within the judiciary.
Acting Chief Justice, Navindra Singh (left)
“The constitution provides how the Chancellor and Chief Justice are appointed, and I am sure that the leader of the opposition is aware of their appointment, and as I said, we continue to examine the issue. We are ensuring that the judiciary itself is well equipped not only with the infrastructure itself, but with the appointment of these judges; they will be filling the different slots,” the head-of-state said.
Former acting Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice of the Court of Appeal, Carl Singh, retired in 2017 after serving 12 years. Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards has been acting since then. Similarly, Justice Ian Chung, who served as acting Chief Justice from 2010 to 2016, was never confirmed. Given the delay in the appointments, former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Adrian Saunders, had publicly called for the confirmation of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice, signalling the broader regional concern over the matter.
In Guyana, several independent voices and political figures have called for the substantive appointments of the two judges. Earlier this year, president of the Guyana Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran, made the call for the immediate appointment of Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Roxane George-Wiltshire as the substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice of the judiciary, respectively.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Similar Articles
Website Hits
Blunt of the day
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
