THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has said it holds steadfast to the view that an independent and competent judiciary is a fundamental pillar of any democracy.

In a statement, the ruling political party said, in this regard, it has never condoned and will never encourage any attempt to compromise or interfere with the independence of the local judiciary.

“Simultaneously, however, the PPP recognises that, as a branch of government in a democratic environment, the judiciary, like the other organs of government, is not free from public comment and criticism. But we are cognisant of the stricture that such criticism must be constructive, bona fide and must not, in any way, intentionally bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” it stated.

Against this background, the PPP observed, with grave concern, the ruling of the learned magistrate presiding over the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the murder of former Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh and three others, where the Court refused to admit into evidence a confession statement, allegedly made by the accused David Leander alias ‘Biscuit’.

“Our legal experts have advised us that the issue of admissibility of evidence is to be determined at the trial and not at the preliminary inquiry. At committal proceedings, therefore, a confession of the defendant will be tendered into evidence since its actual admissibility, on the basis of voluntariness, can only be determined at a voir dire hearing at the trial in the High Court,” the PPP said.

The statement went on: “We are further advised that this has been the legal practice and procedure extant in Guyana for a number of years and that magistrates presiding over preliminary inquiries have routinely ruled that they have no power to determine the issue of voluntariness of alleged confession statements and they, accordingly, admit those statements into evidence for their admissibility, on the ground of voluntariness, to be determined at the trial in the High Court.”

“In the circumstances, we, therefore, view the departure from this legal practice and procedure by the learned magistrate as extraordinary – to say the least. Our only hope and desire is for justice to prevail,” the party said.