Justice Yonnete Cummings-Edwards has been appointed by both President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to serve as acting Chief Justice when Justice Ian Chang proceeds on pre-retirement leave next week.President Granger has described Justice Cummings-Edwards as the most suitable person to act in that post, a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said.

“We looked at the judges, particularly the judges in the Appeal Court, and we felt that Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards was the person that could carry out the duties of Chief Justice,” President David Granger was quoted as saying.
The President said the experience of Justice Cummings-Edwards, her qualifications and the decisions she has made were all examined, “and we felt she was the most suitable when all these factors were taken into consideration”.
The President has said that the consultative process was conducted completely in line with what is required by Guyana’s Constitution.
“The Constitution requires me to consult; and having considered the potential candidates, I have made my choice. I am satisfied that she is a good person to fulfil that function, and in due course, I will have to have other consultations with the Leader of the Opposition to have a permanent appointee; but, right now, Mr Carl Singh is the substantive Chief Justice. He is acting Chancellor, and I do hope that, in due course, we will be able to have substantive persons in both positions,” he was quoted as having said.
But the Opposition Leader suggested to the President a selection process that was not constitutionally required for the naming of the acting Chief Justice, as well as for appointment to the substantive position.
“The President proposed a name, I spoke about a process, and I (said) that the elements of the process that I suggested are (1): The most senior judge should act at this point in time; and secondly, that if it’s performance-based, we should get a report from the Judicial Service Commission and people about the performance of the nominee, and compare (this) to (the performance of) others who are a part of the senior leadership of the judiciary,” Jagdeo said.
Jagdeo also said that while he did not have an opportunity to review the curriculum vitae of Justice Cummings–Edwards prior to meeting with President Granger and Attorney-General Basil Williams, who was also present at the meeting, he has no objection to Justice Cummings-Edwards’ nomination.
President Granger, however, indicated that at this time the consultation was geared towards discussing the role of the acting Chief Justice, and reiterated that his consultation was done in accordance with the Guyana Constitution.
CONSTITUTION FOLLOWED
“There is nothing in the Constitution which requires the type of process Mr Jagdeo described; and as far as I am concerned, the consultation was entirely in accordance with the Constitution,” the President said. He added: “We are not looking for a permanent appointee, because acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Mr. Carl Singh, is the substantive Chief Justice; so I cannot fill a position that is already occupied. So, from the outset, we knew that the nominee would be the acting Chief Justice…. Nothing that was done today was at variance with the Constitution.”
Re-enforcing the President’s point, Attorney-General Basil Williams said that, under the Constitution, the President is required to have meaningful consultations with the Leader of the Opposition on the matter.
“Those consultations were just held, and the President had just given his nominee to perform the functions of that office… and that’s what we were required to do. There are no criteria, at this stage, to determine anything else. All that’s being required to do is indicate our nominee to perform [the] functions of that office.”
Williams concurred with the President by stating that Justice Cummings- Edwards “is the best person for the role. She’s highly qualified; very experienced in terms of being on the bench; she’s been in the Court of Appeal for many years; [and] a lot of her own decisions have been upheld by the Caribbean Court of Justice. So there’s no question about her competence and her qualifications and her dedication to that office.”