–on top judicial appointments

PRESIDENT David Granger will soon receive legal advice on the appointment of a substantive Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice following the rejection of his nominees by Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday.

Though Jagdeo rejected Justice Kenneth Benjamin and Madam Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards for the posts of Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice respectively, the Constitution provides for the President to appoint them in acting capacities after consultation with the Opposition Leader.

The Constitution also requires that the nominees for the two top judicial positions be appointed by the President, after agreement with the Leader of the Opposition.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, while speaking at his post-Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, reminded reporters that the President in conformity with the Constitution invited the Leader of the Opposition to consultations on the appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice.

A consultative meeting was held on January 3, 2018, and President Granger had furnished the Opposition Leader with the Curriculum Vitae of the nominees, while outlining the process for selection. The nominees were selected and recommended to the President by a panel comprising former Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh, Justice James Patterson, and Professor Harold Lutchman.

But now that the Opposition Leader, in exercising his Constitutional right, rejected the nominees for the post, Minister Harmon said President Granger will move to capitalise on other provisions catered for in the Constitution. “Constitutionally, there is a provision now which will have to kick in, which will allow for another level of consultation, before appointments are made,” he told reporters. According to him, President Granger has committed to writing the Opposition Leader on the matter after the Opposition failed to show at a planned meeting on Wednesday.

“There is a constitutional provision which we will look at, if in fact there is no agreement for them to be appointed in the substantive position then as I said there is constitutional provision for them to be appointed otherwise,” Minister Harmon added. He would not say whether the appointments would be substantive or for the purpose of acting but made it clear that Government will not allow for the work of the judiciary to be held in abeyance or to be stymied.

According to Article 127 of the Constitution of Guyana, “the Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.”

Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor since 2005, when the then Chancellor, Desiree Bernard, retired and took up the post as judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) the same year. The non-appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice is a result of the government and opposition sides not agreeing to the candidates for the post. President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Sir Dennis Byron, during the Bar Association dinner in November, had underscored the importance of having a substantive chancellor of the judiciary and chief justice in place soon.