Legal action has been mounted against the Guyana Government for the President’s failure to initiate steps to appoint a substantive Chief Justice (CJ) and Chancellor. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affair, Anil Nandlall made this disclosure during his recently aired “Issues in the News” programme. He said that the case was filed by an Opposition Member of Parliament, whom he did not name.
Nandlall branded the move duplicitous, accusing the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and its Coalition, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) of dillydallying for years despite repeated attempts by past People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) leaders to effect substantive appointments. Currently, the posts are occupied by acting appointees with Madam Roxane George as the CJ and Madam Justice Yonette Cummings as the Chancellor.
The suit comes against the backdrop of a two-decade impasse prompted by the reformation of Guyana’s Constitution in the late 90s to early 2000s, which introduced the use of an “agreement” between the President and the Opposition Leader for those posts. The constitutional change also allowed the appointment of persons to act in those positions. Prior to the change, Nandlall said that Justice Carl Singh served as the CJ while the iconic Justice Desire Bernard was Chancellor. Justice Bernard was later elevated to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and Justice Singh was appointed as the acting Chancellor. Justice Ian Chang was later named CJ (acting). This was circa 2007.
Since then, Nandlall said, numerous attempts were made to engage the PNCR to reach an agreement but to no avail.
He noted that former President, now Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo attempted to engage the then-Leader of the Opposition, and PNCR Head, Robert Corbin to “confirm” Justices Chang and Singh.
“Several meetings were held and several letters were exchanged, but Mr Corbin refused to give his agreement, either to confirm Chancellor Singh or confirm Chief Justice Chang. So, all efforts between President Jagdeo and Mr Corbin failed. President Jagdeo initiated the process and pursued it, but Leader of the Opposition, Corbin refused,” Nandlall said.
He added that similar moves were made in 2011 by the former President, Donald Ramotar to engage Corbin’s successor, David Granger, who became President in 2015.
“President Ramotar attempted to get Leader of the Opposition, David Granger to agree to confirm these two persons, Justice Singh as Chancellor and Singh as Chief Justice. Several meetings were held and Granger refused to offer his agreement to confirm these two gentlemen, who, by that time, had already been acting for years in those two offices,” Nandlall noted.
He further noted lapses by former President Granger to initiate the steps, as is constitutionally required.
“President Granger not once ever attempted to engage the then-Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, between 2015 and 2020 in respect of securing an agreement for the persons acting in the offices of the CJ and Chancellor – not once! What President attempted to do, was try to bring someone outside of Guyana, whom he intended to put to act as Chancellor.
And now, they have sued President Ali for not initiating when successive PPP Presidents, starting with President Jagdeo, were trying all those years to get an agreement. They have now sued because President Ali has not initiated the process. But that’s the President’s call and he will initiate it at the appropriate time and he has said so,” Nandlall noted.
