THE complement of Puisne Judges has now been officially increased to a maximum of 20. This decision was made after consultation with the judiciary and this is yet another demonstration of the Executive’s commitment to adequately resourcing the judiciary and supporting its institutional strengthening in order to ensure that in the end, justice is delivered to our people efficiently, competently and with dispatch.

A statement issued yesterday by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall said: “The Government is pleased to announce that on February 3, 2014, His Excellency, President Donald Ramotar, pursuant to Section 3 of the High Court Act, Cap. 3:02 issued the Puisne Judges (maximum number) Order 2014, increasing the number of Puisne Judges to 20. The said Order was duly published on February 8, 2014 in the Official Gazette.”

“The decision to increase the complement of Puisne Judges was made after due consultation with the judiciary. It is yet another demonstration of the Executive’s commitment to adequately resourcing the judiciary and supporting its institutional strengthening in order to ensure that in the end, justice is delivered to our people efficiently, competently and with dispatch.
“It is the administration’s hope that this new measure will assist in bringing much needed alacrity to the rate at which cases are heard and determined in our judicial system. From all indications, it appears that the current complement of Puisne Judges is wholly inadequate to meet the volume of litigation engaging the justice system. At a special sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice in Guyana on the 19th of February 2014, in her farewell presentation, the Hon. Madame Justice Desiree Bernard echoed a call for an increased complement of Puisne Judges. We are pleased to note that the Administration had already acted on the matter. “
“We trust that those who are endowed with the high constitutional responsibility of recruiting candidates to fill the new vacancies, will discharge this responsibility with due care and circumspection in order to ensure that the new appointees are imbued with the requisite competence and integrity befitting the office to which they seek appointment. In this regard, we hope that quality will never be sacrificed for quantity.”