CHIEF Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire and Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Patrick Yarde were on Wednesday sworn in as ex-officio members of the JSC by President David Granger.
The swearing-in took place at State House and in accordance with Article 134 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana which states that “There shall be a Judicial Service Commission.”
The JSC is empowered by the Constitution to make appointments, remove and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding judicial office.
President Granger in a brief address described the JSC as “an indispensible element of Guyana’s legal framework”.
“The Commission is the guardian of judicial autonomy. It is the defender of its independence. It is the protector of its integrity and impartiality.”
He said the aim of the JSC is to insulate judicial appointments from political partisanship and personal and other biases.
“It is a mechanism which ensures that judicial officers will be appointed on the basis of their competence and integrity,” the President said.
The JSC is obliged to ensure that its recommendations for appointments of judicial officers flow from a dispassionate and objective process and are based on clearly defined criteria applied in assessing the appropriateness of appointees,” said the President.
“The JSC upholds the independence of the judiciary. It ensures by its diligence that judicial appointees possess the attributes and embody the personal values which make them capable and willing to resist being influenced by improper partisan and personal interests,” the President stated.
He added that the JSC is the custodian of the values and standards of ethical and legal probity by judges and judicial officials and must “zealously ensure that the personal conduct of judges does not bring the judicature into disrepute”.
“It must preserve and protect the system’s integrity,” said the head-of-state.
Article 198 of the Constitution states that the JSC must be comprised of the Chancellor of the Judiciary who serves as chairman, the chief justice, the chairman of the Public Service Commission and such other members as may be appointed by the President.
The latter appointment should be one who holds or may have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court acting after meaningful consultation with the Opposition Leader and not less than one and not more than two from among persons who are not attorneys-at-law in active practice, after the National Assembly has meaningfully consulted such bodies as appear to it to represent attorneys-at-law in Guyana and signified its choice of members to the President.
Additionally, the Constitution says that an appointed member of the JSC shall become vacant at the expiration of three years from the date of his or her appointment or at some earlier date as may be specified in the instrument by which he or she was appointed, or if he or she is appointed to the office of the Chancellor, Chief Justice or Chairman of the Public Service Commission or of the Teaching Service Commission.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of State,Joseph Harmon and acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards.