NEW civil procedure rules for the Supreme Court were laid in the National Assembly by Attorney General, Basil Williams during Monday’s sitting.

The Attorney General laid the new rules on behalf of the Rules Committee headed by Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Carl Singh and Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards.

This is the first time since Guyana became independent that the High Court rules have been subjected to a major overhaul. The changes have brought the new rules in line with similar rules in the Caribbean.

It is understood that consultants on the new rules will come from Canada shortly to conduct orientation sessions with lawyers and judicial officers. A team from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is also expected to do Case Management sessions under the new rules.

The new rules are intended to simplify the processes to enable the courts to deal with cases justly and speedily.

The voluminous rules and legal forms span 187 pages and contain procedures for settling civil matters and making payments both in and out of court. This will help to ease the clogging of courts by matters that can easily be settled.