PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said Guyana’s Judiciary is independent; and the fact that government sometimes criticises the decisions of the High Court does not mean that this is an attempt to subvert its independence. He was speaking at the opening of the new Charity Magistrate’s Court at Charity in the Pomeroon, Region 2. In attendance were Chancellor of the Judiciary (acting) Carl Singh, Chief Justice (acting) Ian Chang, Minister of Public Service Jennifer Westford, Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, General Secretary of the PPP Donald Ramotar, and a number of other dignitaries.
“Today we have taken a high standing in the ranks of the democratic countries of the world, not only because we have free and fair elections. And our elections are always monitored by the international bodies. This election too will be monitored by the Carter Center, the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Commonwealth, the European Union, UNASUR, and CARICOM. We have invited [all of these observers] to see that our elections are above board,” the president said.
He said that it is very important to have clean elections to enter the fold of democratic countries of the world. “But we have gone beyond elections. We have made changes in our Constitution that are far-reaching, that would give people the fundamental rights provisions in our Constitution. Not just greater rights in a legislative sense, but effective means of enforcing those rights. We have also reduced the uncertainties surrounding the implementation of many of the democratic clauses of the Constitution, and we are the only country in the English-speaking Caribbean that would have a transfer of power because of term limits,” he said.
He said all of these things are very important; and it is his belief that the economic and social development could take place under undemocratic rule. But this will not be sustainable, he said. “It is going to be for short periods, until people demand more and in Guyana we have created that framework. The legislative branch of the government functions effectively. It has power. It is exercised through the active debate in Parliament. The will of the people gets represented in law-making,” the president said.
“We have made changes to the executive to make it more accountable to people and to the Parliament and Judiciary; and those changes are far-reaching, from subjecting people to the Integrity Commission, to giving the Auditor General direct access to the Parliament to a sub-committee that the Opposition chairs.
He said the Judiciary has come a far way “from the days when the Court of Appeal flew the flag of a political party rather than the national flag.”
He said, “The Judiciary today is independent. It is not beholden to [nor does it] get directions from the Executive. That is the only way that a modern democratic country that believes in law and order and democratic justice can function.”
“Sometimes when we criticise the Judiciary, it is seen as attempts to direct the Judiciary or interfere with its work. That is far from the truth. The Judiciary, and by extension the Magistracy, are not beyond accountability,” he said. “They have to be accountable to the bodies that occupy the Parliament. They have to be accountable to people, and for too long we have operated in an environment where people think criticism of the Judiciary is either an attempt to subvert the Judiciary politically, or if you do so, you will end up in jail because judges are sensitive to criticism,” he said.
“But we believe in fair criticism. I think only God’s decisions are infallible. People can be wrong, and even if they are not wrong, citizens of the country can freely express their differences with those views,” he said, adding that it must be done in a respectful manner and not through peddling of rumours.
“There are judges and magistrates who would walk the extra mile and work very hard. And often they do not get much credit for it. [Then] there are some who, I feel, are totally hopeless. They will give in five minutes an Ex Parte injunction for a very complex matter and then can’t give decisions for several years for matters which they have heard already,” he said.
“We (the Government) are not asking for favourable decisions. We are asking that the cases be dealt with expeditiously,” the president said.
On the completion of the new court, the president expressed the hope that cases will be heard faster. He also expressed the hope that the alternative dispute resolution mechanism will “kick in”, so that more cases could be solved outside of the court.
He said government will continue to work at enhancing the independence of the Judiciary and at the same time make it more accountable to the people. “I am very pleased with the leadership of the Judiciary and Magistracy, and their attempts to make serious changes in the way the courts function and for the administration of justice in Guyana, and for this, I congratulate them,” he said.
After the official ceremony to mark the opening of the court at Charity, President Jagdeo and his team attended eight campaign meetings where he and Ramotar addressed residents, urging them to support the PPP in an effort to allow continued economic and social well-being for the country. The President drew mirth when he called for people to give up a few episodes of their favourite soap operas and drinking alcohol to lend their support to the election of Donald Ramotar.