TOP State leaders told Berbicians yesterday Government stands committed to an independent Guyanese justice system, accessible to every citizen, especially the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged.Attorney General Anil Nandlall said several “changes” are imminent to empower citizens’ access to the justice system.
“Government has invested billions of dollars to ensure the Justice system is accessible to citizens,” President Donald Ramotar told Berbice residents yesterday, as the Head-of-State commissioned an ultra-modern Magistrate’s Court building in Corentyne.
Both President Ramotar and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Nandlall appealed to Berbicians to use this process of accessibility to secure justice and ensure free and fair law and order in their communities.
President Ramotar opened the brand new, ultra-modern Magistrate’s Court at No 51 Village, Corentyne, fully equipped with air-conditioned rooms and comfortable furniture, to enhance law and order access for Berbice residents.
The President listed a number of new Court buildings under construction or for which Government has awarded construction contracts. “We invest billions of dollars in the judicial sector to ensure access to justice, which impacts our socio-economic development,” President Ramotar said, noting that “this new Court must be a major defender of the poor”.
The Head-of-State said Government is committed to judicial independence. “Government will ensure the Justice system remain independent. You will never see a Party flag of the PPP (People’s Progressive Party) flying on a Court building,” he said. “All must be equal in the face of the law,” the President said.
The President said Government invests heavily in the education system, with the goal of citizen justice in mind. “We must be careful in our democratic country that the human rights of citizens are never violated”.
He also said that investors are “more likely to invest in our country, if the Justice system offers them recourse to law and order,” the President said, noting that Government has set up “mediation centers” to allow citizens access to Justice.
The event attracted high profile figures of the legal fraternity, including Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Carl Singh, a number of judges and magistrates and lawyers, and President Ramotar and Attorney General Nandlall.
Minister Nandlall, in an eloquent, articulate address, said the occasion provides an “historic moment”, as the justice system “is the most important factor in the development of our country, in ensuring citizens enjoy freedom and justice”.
The Attorney General said that “there is economic and social progress when there is a well-functioning justice system. The trust of our justice system is accessibility for every citizen to justice. This Government ensures that resources are there to facilitate access to the Justice system”.
The Attorney General, under whose Ministerial portfolio the Magistrate’s Court construction is managed, said “the judicial system is transformed”, although “it’s a work in progress, as it takes time to execute change, and although things might not move as fast as we want, we’re seeing progress”.
“This Government assures you in Berbice, and all Guyanese, that the judicial system will forever remain independent, free of Government dictates. There was once a time when the Party flag of the ruling party in Government (the People’s National Congress), flew over the High Court of the land. Never again will that happen,” the Attorney General said.
He said the Government “operates under the philosophy of absolute independence of the judiciary”, and revealed that “more powers are coming to ensure citizens have access to challenge abuses of power in the Government or from State functionaries. New High Court rules are coming. Changes are coming to the Land Registry Court”.
In a brief address, Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Carl Singh, noted that he worked in the old Magistrate’s Court at No 51 Village Corentyne, and the roof was in severe disrepair, the chair was rickety and “wobbly”, and the place was falling apart, “Now we’ve come a far way,” he said.
The Chancellor “assured” Guyanese that the Judicial Service Commission “would never consider political considerations in its work”, and emphasized the Commission’s independence.
“A functioning Judiciary system shows a democratic society at work, and President Ramotar’s presence here today shows his commitment to the rule of law and the democratic culture of this country”, Justice Singh said, noting that Government instituted major citizen recourse to justice, “including the Caribbean Court of Appeal”.
by Shaun Michael Samaroo