DURING his 2014 Budget debate presentation on Monday, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandlall assured that through the many government initiatives and interventions, the Judiciary is independent and efficient; and all Guyanese, irrespective of where they are located, or their social and financial standing, have equal right to justice. “We are of the unshakeable view that these are indispensable prerequisites to the economic development and social progress which our people aspire to enjoy,” he told the National Assembly.
The Minister said it is for these reasons, the administration continues to invest heavily in the Justice Sector, having recognised that while it does not contribute directly to the GDP, as the other productive sectors do, this sector is largely responsible for law and order.
Minister Nandlall added that adherence to the rule of law, constitutional and democratic governance, is indeed the glue that keeps society and civilisation, as we know it, together. “Without it, neither production will take place, nor civility, as we know it, will exist.”
Meanwhile, it was noted that since the 2013 budget presentation, significant strides have been made in this sector.  Some of the developments include the conclusion of the compilation of the Revised Laws of Guyana, which was done after a 34 year hiatus.
“The conclusion of this historic exercise was preceded by another historic achievement. I refer to the completion and launch of years of Law Reports from 1977 to 2007, this came after another gap of some 34 years.”
With this completion, work will commence in an effort to continue these exercises, in order to avoid the protracted lapses. In 2014, work will begin on compiling another set of Law Reports from 2008 to date; updating and continuous revision of the laws have already begun.
Further, within the Attorney General Chambers, a Law Revision Officer has been appointed and duly trained.
In addition, the minister noted that the Official Gazette has been placed online and the venture is being managed from the AG Chambers in collaboration with National Printers. Minister Nandlall added that the response to this initiative has been remarkable, with the website having had over a million hits.
“Persons from as far as Australia, Fiji, India, Africa and of course Europe and North America have been accessing the website with encouraging frequency. Two officers at the AG Chambers, specially trained, are manning this site.”

 Infrastructural works
Rehabilitation and refurbishing works have been completed to a building at Main and King Streets, New Amsterdam, Berbice. The upper flat of this building will house the office of the DPP, and the lower flat, the Land Registry. The Land Registry will be removed from its cramped location in a part of the Registry of the High Court at New Amsterdam, and will now be housed in the entire bottom flat of this comparatively large building, along with vault facilities for storage.  This is expected to improve the efficiency of that important organisation.
The upper flat which will be used to house the office of the DPP has already been furnished and electricity installed. The building will be handed over to the DPP and the Registrar of Lands, following the conclusion of budget debate 2014.
In addition, the automatic voice recording equipment for the court system will be installed within a matter of days. The Minister announced that the contractor arrived in the country on Monday to begin works.
“As I have stated earlier, this initiative will make a transformational change to the speed of litigation in this country; while this equipment will only be installed in the Court of Appeal, the Court of the Chief Justice, and the Commercial Court of the High Court, the intention is to replicate it in every superior court of record in the country.”
In addition, over the last two years, a number of Courts were either completely refurbished or new buildings were constructed. These include the High Courts of Georgetown and New Amsterdam, the Court of Appeal, and Magistrates’ Courts at Whim, New Amsterdam, Sisters Village, Reliance, Mibicuri, Georgetown, Leonora, and Wales. It must also be noted that almost every court in the High Court, both in Georgetown and New Amsterdam, are fully air conditioned for the first time in the history of this country.
Further, within a few weeks, the Magistrates’ Courts at Christianburg, Wismar, and Lethem will be completed. These new buildings have also been furnished with residential quarters for the Magistrates. However, for the Court at Wismar, a new Magistrate’s Clerk’s office will be established so that persons within the newly created Magisterial District of Region 10 will not have to travel all the way to Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court to transact their business. Historically, that court fell under the Magisterial District of West Demerara, but that will now change.
Additionally, 18 laptops were purchased and distributed to the judges of the Court of Appeal, and the High Court with the expectation that it will assist in the speedy writing up of decisions.
Meanwhile the long wait for the coming into operation of the Family Court will end within a few weeks.
According to the minister, the last set of furniture purchased from Fibre Tech Industries  will be installed within a few days.  The Family Court Rules have already been completed and are with the Chancellor to be brought into operation.
“It is important that I disclose that the long wait which we endured in respect of the acquisition of furniture for the Court was not without a benefit. The original cost submitted for these furniture was $32M. Cabinet withheld its ” no objection ” to this award and the Court was eventually furnished at a cost of about $12M saving the taxpayers nearly  $20M.

(GINA)